Alice's Second Human Sacrifice
by Rolling-Chan
Summary: "This world may be called Wonderland, but I can assure you there's nothing wonderful about it. Wonderland may sound like a dream, but trust me when I tell you that it's nothing more than a nightmare. I mean, look at me; I'm you're greatest fear come to life." An Alice Human Sacrifice fanfic.
1. Chapter 1

_There once was a dream._

_No one knows who dreamt it._

_It was such a small dream._

_This made the dream think,_

_"I don't want to disappear._

_"How can I make people dream me?"_

_The little dream thought and thought_

_And at last had an idea._

_"I will make people come to me,_

_"And they will create my world."_

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_"Rin, wait up!"_

_"Len!" a young blonde girl laughed as she ran through the strangely orange and purple forest. "You're such a slow poke!"_

_"Just give me . . . a minute to breathe," the boy panted as he doubled over and continued to breathe heavily._

_The girl stopped where she was before approaching her brother. They looked a lot alike, the girl and the boy. The same blonde hair, the same cerulean eyes, and the same face. For fraternal twins, the two were as identical as a set of twins could be despite being different genders._

_"You okay?" the girl asked as she placed a hand on her brother's shoulder._

_"Fine," the boy answered. "Where do you get all that energy?"_

_The girl smiled mischievously. "I'm the athletic one, remember?"_

_"More like the stubborn one," the boy smiled, earning a slap to the back of his head from his sister. "Besides," he continued to say, "I'm the smart one."_

_"Don't get full of yourself," his sister said. "Now come on!" she began to pull on his hand. "I want to see the queen!"_

_"Calm down," the boy said as he tried to keep his sister from ripping his arm off. "How do you even know the invitation is for us?" he asked. "We could have stolen it from whoever was going to have tea under that rose bush."_

_"Then perhaps they shouldn't have left the invitation unsupervised like that" the girl said as she placed her hands on her hips. "If the invitation was really that important to them then they should have taken it with them."_

_"Either way," the boy said, "that's stealing. I don't think the queen would like to welcome a couple of thieves to her palace."_

_"I wouldn't steal from a queen," the girl pouted._

_"Rin," the boy looked disbelieving at his sister._

_"Okay!" she threw her hands up. "I wouldn't steal from a queen if someone was watching. Happy?"_

_"I don't think being happy is a possibility with this situation," he replied._

_"Come on, Len," the girl continued to pout. "I know you're just as curious about meeting the queen as I am." Leaning forward, the girl whispered, "I hear the queen of Wonderland is the most beautiful creature in all the worlds. All the worlds, Len! Wouldn't you want to meet the most beautiful woman ever?"_

_"Why would I care if she's beautiful?" Len asked with a shrug of his shoulders._

_"Boys," Rin rolled her eyes. Grabbing his wrist, Rin pulled him foreword as she said, "If you don't want to meet queen, then fine. Just at least make sure I make it there all right. You did promise to protect me while we were here, after all."_

_The boy smiled. There was no denying that statement. If anything happened to his beloved twin sister, he would have no reason to live. None._

_Walking for another hour or two, the forest gradually shifted from its unusual coloring to all black, and the brother and sister came to a wall made of ink dark bushes. "'Prison of those who were the embodiments of sin,'" the girl read the sing. "What did they do?" she asked her brother. "Stick all the prisoners in a bush and make them take a time out until they decided to play nice?"_

_"I don't think that's what the sign means," the boy said as he took in the large shrub. "Perhaps this place really is a prison for the worst of sinners."_

_"That's silly," the girl snorted._

_"This is Wonderland," the boy reminded. "If we can meet a talking blue caterpillar then I think a bush that works as a prison isn't impossible." Seeing his sister stick her hands into the bushes and pull steams and leaves out of the way, he asked, "What are you doing?"_

_"Proving to you that no one's here," she answered as she inspected another area. "There's no way a plant can keep bad people trapped."_

_"Rin," the boy warned as he took a step forward. When it felt as if he stepped on something, the boy looked down and saw what appeared to be a rusty knife. Picking it up, the boy was both surprised and terrified to see that what he stepped on was a sword. "Rin," he said again, but this time panic was in his tone._

_"You worry too much," the girl said, unaware of what her brother had found. "There's nothing- Oh shi-!" She didn't get to finish, for what she found had scared her into falling over._

_The boy, sword still in hand, ran to his sister's side and asked, "What's wrong? What did you find?"_

_Wordlessly, the girl pointed straight ahead at the bush. The boy followed the direction of his sister's finger, and what he found sent chills down his spin._

_Laying outside of the bush was a thin, shriveled, and mummified hand. The hand hung there as still as stone, and the rotting flesh told the siblings that its owner was long dead. The most distinctive feature of the hand was the bright red spade on the back, seemingly untouched by the deteriorating process._

_"Hey, Len," the girl said slowly, her behind still planted on the ground, "her Mark is kind of like ours." Both of the children looked at there hands. They each had half a yellow heart Marked on one hand beside their thumb. "What . . . ," the girl gulped and started again. "What do you think this person did?"_

_The boy looked at the sword he had found lying only scarcely a few feet away. It may have been old, but the stains on the blade and hilt of the sword made the boy shiver as if the wielder's sins were playing before his eyes. "I think I have an idea," the boy replied before throwing the sword back down._

_Helping his sister up, the boy was ready to leave before anything happened. It was then, however, he felt something wrong as he started blacking in and out._

_"I don't know why," the girl said as she reached out her own hand towards the mummified one, "but I feel sorry for this person." Before she could touch the dead hand, her brother's fingers gently landed on top of the back of hers. "I guess we should go now, huh?" the girl asked. When her brother didn't reply, she turned toward him and called, "Len?"_

_Slowly, the boy turned his head to face his sister. The girl nearly screamed when she saw the white of his eyes replaced with black and his blue irises were now a blood red. "Len?" she called, fear trickling down every nerve of her body._

_The boy didn't respond. Instead he wrapped his fingers around her throat and began to strangle her._

_"Len," the girl tried to get through to her brother, "snap out of it. You're not yourself." She tried to pry his fingers off her throat, but he held tightly to his grip. "Len!" she shouted._

_Soon the boy's eyes began to flash, alternating between their current look and how they normally looked. When his eyes were blue, the girl pleaded, "Come to your senses, Len! You're not yourself!"_

_"Rin," the boy whispered before his eyes flashed back to the unusual appearance. His choke hold tightened as he began to shake the girl._

_"Len, please," the girl whispered with the last breath she could manage._

_In the next instant, the girl blacked out. When a full two seconds had passed, the girl was having an out of body experience. She saw as her brother passed out and how her body fell backwards. Her now empty eyes were wide open and terror filled._

_The sight was so horrible for the girl that she didn't notice her soul being dragged away by what she later learned to be a dream called Alice. For now she starred in horror how her body fell dead and how her brother would wake up later to see his hand prints bright on her neck. "No," she whispered shortly before shouting her dear brother's name._

_"LEEEEENNN!"_

"Len!" Rin exclaimed as she bolted upright. Placing her palm against her forehead, Rin took slow, deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself down. _Why is it every time I sleep that horrid memory plagues my dreams?_

Hugging herself, Rin sniffled as she waited for her tears to dry. She hated to wake up and found that she had been crying in her sleep, but she didn't try to hold it back either. Rin wiped her eyes before hugging herself tighter. With no one around to overhear her words, Rin allowed herself to speak her deepest desire out loud.

"I want to go home."

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"Do you know where you're going?" a blond boy asked.

"I think so," the girl who looked exactly like him answered.

After their visit to the Mad Hatter's cottage, Miku and Len set out on a mission to retrieve an object that could be the death of them. Their journey so far had been uneventful with the lone exception of the episode in the Boro Grove, but that didn't mean either of them had plans to be careless. If Queen Alice knew where they were and what they were up to, it was all over for the both of them.

Len looked again at Miku and tried to imagine how the girl who looked just like his twin wasn't his sister at all. Shortly after Rin had seemingly died, the ghost Miku had taken up residence in Rin's body until they had managed to get Rin's soul and Miku's true body back. At first glance Len had always thought of the girl as his sister Rin, but looking into her emerald green eyes - the only attribute to Miku's appearance that was actually hers - he would be reminded that the girl was truly Miku borrowing Rin's body.

"You think you know where we're going?" Len asked as he raised an eyebrow. Hearing that Miku only thought she knew what she was doing wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear.

"Well it's not as if the Vorpal Blade is of easy access," Miku answered. "Who would want the world's most powerful weapon to be so simple to get your hands on?"

"Just one question," Len began. "What exactly is the Vorpal Blade?"

Miku stopped in her tracks and met Len in the eyes. "You don't know what the Vorpal Blade is?" she asked. When Len shook his head, she began to explain, "The Vorpal Blade is . . ." She trailed off, for something in the sky caught her attention. "Rocking horsefly," she whispered in slight horror.

Looking in the direction Miku was facing, Len said, "No, that looks more like a flying lizard with sharp teeth that wants to - hmmm, I don't know - KILL US!"

"Run!" Miku yelled as she took hold of Len's hand and began to drag him behind her.

The screeching of the creature could be heard not too far behind them, and Miku swore with each step. "Why's that thing after us?!" Len yelled.

"My bet is that the queen knows about us!" Miku replied.

"So she knows you're using Rin's body?!" Len asked with horror. When Miku nodded her answer, Len joined her in her cussing streak.

When an idea suddenly came to Miku, she dug in her pack as she continued to run and pulled out the sack Cheshire gave her only the day before. Taking out one of the sack's contents, Miku ripped it half and handed a piece to Len. "Eat this," she ordered.

"What is it?" Len asked.

"A mushroom," Miku answered.

"But I don't like mushrooms!" Len whined.

"Well learn to like them if you don't want to be dead!" Miku snapped before popping her piece into her mouth.

Len mimicked her movements, and after he swallowed he asked, "Why did we eat a mushroom?"

"Because," Miku huffed as she grew tired from all the sprinting, "the mushroom will either make us grow or shrink, depending on the kind of mushroom we just ate."

"Lovely," Len sighed as he kept in pace with Miku. The screeching grew louder, signaling the two that the monster was not far behind them. "Whatever this mushroom does," Len said, "it needs to happen soon!"

As if a response to Len, both he and Miku noticed their surroundings growing larger and larger. The monster was about to swoop in and pick them both up, but just as it reached out Miku and Len grew small enough for the creature to just barely miss. The next instant, the two were running through the grass no more than four inches tall.

"It's still coming after us!" Len exclaimed when he saw the monster heading towards them.

"STOP!" Miku yelled as she yanked Len by the back of his shirt. Looking ahead, Len saw that Miku had prevented him from running off the edge and falling into a river.

"That's probably not even two feet deep and we're still going to drown," Len said with worry. There was a monster behind them and a river in front of them. No matter what direction they chose death would follow right behind.

With brows furrowed and her lips pursed, Miku said as if making a difficult decision, "We have to jump."

"Are you nuts?!" Len exclaimed. "You just saved me from falling to my death, and now you want us both to go down?"

"It's either that or let that thing get us!" Miku pointed to the creature.

Seeing the monster plummeting towards them for a second time, Len said, "I think drowning won't be that bad a way to go."

"We'll be okay," Miku said, though Len could tell she was trying to convince herself more than him.

Len held out his hand for Miku to take. After she had wrapped her fingers around his, he squeezed her hand as he began to count. "One."

"Two," Miku continued as she squeezed back.

Making eye contact, the two gulped before finishing. "Three!" With that both jumped off the ledge in time for the monster to miss them again. The two watched as the rushing water grew closer to them. Taking a final deep breath, Miku and Len fell into the water and plummeted under.

* * *

Author's Note: This is much later than I anticipated, but I've finally published Alice's Second Human Sacrifice! :D In case you are unaware, this is a sequel to my fanfic Alice's Human Sacrifice, and if you haven't read that then you should go back and read it before continuing on with this. If you've already read it and are flipping out in your seat because you've been waiting for this installment, start flipping out again because this, in my opinion, is far superior to the first. If you liked Alice's Human Sacrifice, then you're going to love Alice's Second Human Sacrifice. :)

Disclaimer: As before, I don't own Vocaloid, Wonderland, or Alice Human Sacrifice.

-Ray


	2. Chapter 2

_"Come on, Meiko!" a little girl with black hair worn in two low tails yelled as she urged the woman behind her foreword._

_"Slow down, Yuki!" Meiko laughed as she chased after the child. The two of them were picking flowers for a party that was meant to be held in Meiko's honor. Ever since Meiko slayed the feathered dragon that terrorized the village, the people held her with great respect, and the event that night was to celebrates Meiko's saving Yuki from a bear. She hadn't been there long, but Meiko quickly became the village hero. Everyone loved her and respected her. Nobody had anything against the kind swordswoman._

_"Come on!" Yuki called as she ran towards Meiko, grabbed her wrist, and pulled the young woman ahead._

_Meiko continued to follow the girl, laughing along the way. Once they were up the hill, Yuki let go and sprinted ahead. "Oh no you don't," Meiko giggled as she ran as well and caught up to the child, Meiko picking her up and swinging her around. "Got you!" Meiko sang before setting the girl down._

_Giggling, Yuki reached out and held Meiko's hand. She swayed the hand back and forth before looking at the back of Meiko's hand. "I never noticed this before," the child then mumbled with a small frown._

_"Noticed what?" Meiko asked, her lips pinching and brows furrowing._

_"This," Yuki pointed at the bright red spot on top of Meiko's hand. "Is this a birth mark?"_

_"No," Meiko replied as she studied the back of her hand. What appeared to be a bright red spade seemed to have etched itself into her skin. "I've never seen that before a day in my life."_

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"You idiot!" Alice yelled before throwing a knife at one of her servants. Specifically the servant Alice strictly forbade from doing anything with the blonde teens. "What the bloody hell were you thinking?!"

"I-I'm s-s-sorry, Your M-Majesty," the servant stuttered as he dodged another one of Alice's weapons. Where did the queen keep all these knives hidden? "I j-just thought I would s-send the flying lizard af-after them."

"And why would you do that?" Alice asked calmly as she expertly twirled a knife in her fingers. She could have been a carver in her former life with how effortlessly she spun the blade around without accidentally cutting herself.

"I-I-I thought I w-would get them as-as prisoners-ers," the servant answered. "You di-didn't try to-to capture them so I-"

"So you assumed I didn't know what I was doing!" Alice interrupted as she threw the knife at the man, only missing him by a hair. "There was a reason I wasn't going after them, you ridiculously stupid moron! If they didn't know I was watching them then they would have been careless and came to me. Heck, they practically would have gift wrapped themselves to me that's how easily they would have came. Now you ruined that! They now know I'm watching them! They're going to be careful. They're going to watch what they do. And it's all your fault! Disobedience will not be tolerated." With that the queen threw her last knife at him. It didn't matter that her throw was far off, because she called her guards and ordered, "Off with his head!"

Rin watched the entire event from the safety of her crystal prison. She didn't know whether to feel relieved that Len knew he was being watched or to be worried that the queen wasn't going to be so nice about his freedom now. As for whoever was using Rin's body, Rin didn't know what to think. From what she had seen from the mirror, Rin could tell Len got along with Rin's body stealer well enough, and by this point Rin was sure Len knew that the person in Rin's body wasn't Rin herself. Sighing, Rin struggled to understand how she should interpret Len's relationship with whoever was using his twin sister's body.

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With a moan escaping his lips, Len tried to recall why he was feeling so weak and sore. With his sense of touch slowly returning to him, Len felt his damp clothes and remembered. _Miku and I jumped into the river . . ._ he slowly recalled. When the thought processed itself in his head, Len's eyes flew open. His first instinct was to search for Miku and make sure she was alive and okay, but the sight of blue eyes in front of his prevented him from doing such.

Before him sat a tiny girl with pixie cut blue hair and purple ends. She leaned in close to Len, causing the blond to blush. The girl stared at him for a few seconds before looking over her shoulder and shouting, "Merli! Gumi! Come quick! The boy's still alive!" Making eye contact with Len, she said, "Don't worry, we're not going to hurt you."

"Miku?" was all Len could say as he tried to look around. His neck was so stiff he could barely turn his head without feeling pain. At least nothing seemed to be broken.

"Huh?" the girl leaned in closer.

"Miku?" Len repeated. "There . . . there was a girl with me. Miku. Is she all right? Is she here?"

The girl's eyes widened with sudden realization. "Oh! The girl? She's right over there." With that the girl pointed to a slumped figure near a rock. One look at the lifeless body was all it took for Len to gain enough strength to get up and run towards her.

"Miku?!" Len called, ignoring the girl as she advised him to take it easy. Kneeling next to Miku, Len held the limp body in his arms as he called over and over, "Miku? Miku? Miku, speak to me! Miku?!"

It was her turn for a soft moan to escape her lips. Opening her eyes slowly, Miku spent a while observing the boy holding her. "Len?" she finally croaked.

"Oh thank goodness!" Len said as he hugged her. "I thought you were dead."

"I'm not easy to kill," Miku tried to be lighthearted, but her weak voice faltered.

Feeling her head fall against his, Len pulled Miku away to see she had resubmerged into unconsciousness. "Miku?" Len asked, the worry evident in his tone. He placed his index and middle finger under her jaw and was relieved to find a pulse.

"So she's alive after all," the girl said, now standing behind Len.

"Why didn't you try to help her if you weren't sure she was alive?" Len snapped as he tried to keep from looking at the girl.

"I thought she was dead," the girl answered to defend herself. "There's nothing I can do for the dead."

"Well since you now know she's alive," Len said through clenched teeth, "why don't you help her now?"

"Because she's not allowed to do such until I give her permission to," a new voice answered.

Len turned around to find a dark skinned girl with purple hair standing next to the blue haired girl. Behind them both was a girl with green hair and eyes. Suddenly Len noticed something he couldn't believe he didn't see on the first girl earlier.

"You're fairies," he stated, observing each individual wing on the girls, the colors of the wings matching the color of each girl's hair. The wings reminded Len of butterflies, but these girls' wings were far more beautiful than any butterfly Len had ever seen.

"And you're not," the tall girl said as she looked at Len's and Miku's bare backs.

"Enough about that," Len said as he once again checked Miku's pulse. "She needs help."

"Here, let me see her," the tall girl said as she knelt next to the two. She placed her hand on Miku's face before saying, "She's okay. Your friend only needs to rest. However, we'll have to get her out of those clothes and put her someplace warm if that is to happen."

"Can't they come with us, Merli?" the blue haired girl quickly asked, bouncing eagerly.

"I don't know, Lapis," the girl, Merli, answered. "I don't know who they are, where they're going, or what they want."

Not wanting another minute to pass without Miku receiving help, Len said, "I'm Len, and this is Miku. I don't know where we're going; Miku's the guide. Right now I just want you to help her." Looking into Merli's sapphire eyes, Len asked, "So will you please help us?"

Merli looked as if she were considering whether or not to help them. In the end she turned to the green haired girl and said, "Gumi, fly ahead and tell someone to prepare a room. We're going to be having unexpected guests over."


	3. Chapter 3

_The fresh spring air mixed with the smooth and velvety voice that sung out to the crowd. Multiple people had gathered to hear the man whose voice was described as being that of a rose, and they awed at the beauty of his songs. That man stood on a crate so he could be visible by all the people, finishing the song he had sung for the villagers. A loud applause soon followed after he faded out on the last note._

_"That was great, Kaito!" a girl with a long purple ponytail exclaimed as she ran up towards him. She jumped on the crate the man stood on and wrapper her thin arms around his waist._

_"Thanks, Gakuko," Kaito responded as he pat the short girl on her head._

_Gakuko giggled at the affectionate gesture as she let go of her hug. "Sing us another song, please," she said as she jumped off the crate._

_"Anything for you," Kaito smiled before starting another one of his many melodies._

_The villagers listened and hung on to ever note Kaito sung. Every now and again he would visit villages and sing to them, giving them a sort of entertainment after a long, hard day's work. They didn't know where he came from, but nobody cared. His kind attitude and sweet voice was enough to make anyone love him._

_After the song had finished, Kaito looked at the crowd and said, "I suppose that should be it for today. I don't want to keep anyone up later than they should be."_

_"Maybe you could sing to us while we harvest our crops tomorrow," a man in the crowd joked, making some people laugh at the thought._

_"Sure," Kaito went along with it. "And maybe when you sow next year's crops I'll sing to them every evening to help them grow." Every laughed with Kaito._

What do you know?_ Gakuko giggled to herself. _Good looking and funny. What more could a girl want? _Noticing something, Gakuko walked forward and again stood on the crate with Kaito. She took his hand in hers and said, "You didn't tell me you had a tattoo."_

_Kaito gave her a look that, with his furrowed brows and pinched lips, he was confused. "That's because I don't."_

_"But . . . ," Gakuko said slowly, "you have a blue diamond on the back of your hand."_

_"Hmmm?" Kaito looked at his hand and, true to Gakuko's words, a blue diamond was standing out. "Funny," he mumbled to himself, "that wasn't there this morning."_

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Rin twirled the hem of her dress around and around until the fabric could not be twisted any further. The more she spent time in that crystal ball prison, the less the voices bothered her. It was as if the voices were no longer voices at all, but instead they were becoming memories. _Her_ memories.

Thinking through her latest memory, Rin carefully called out each detail of Kaito and the villagers. He had seemed like such a nice young man, just as Meiko seemed to be an excellent young lady, but Rin knew that the people's liking the two was the main reason Alice had Marked them.

That's what Alice does, Rin was now beginning to understand. Alice would go to the land above to find new children to bring to Wonderland, turn into a white rabbit in order to lure said children here, and then observe how the children interacted with Wonderland's inhabitants. If the people of Wonderland liked the children, Alice would Mark them, and if they didn't . . . Rin hadn't figured that out yet as there no one who came to Wonderland the citizens didn't like and was once imprisoned in this cell, but Rin was certain Alice would have ways of taking care of someone no one grew to love.

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"Ow," Miku groaned and raised a hand to her temple as she tried to sit up. "My head is killing me."

"Then I suggest you lie back down," Len said from his place beside her as he pushed her shoulders gently, forcing the girl back into the lying position.

Miku complied and lied again. She first looked at the boy before taking in their surroundings. The floor, walls, and ceiling were made of rough wood, the furniture looked as if it was made of stones and nuts, and the carpet was strangely similar to an oak leaf. "Where are we?" she asked, frowning at the room that reminded her of an illustration from a children's book.

"Inside a hollowed tree," Len answered. "After we jumped into the river, we washed ashore some miles away, and a few fairies found and rescued us. You kept fading in and out of consciousness, and you were really beat up from our swim, so I had the fairies bring you here."

"So I wasn't dreaming," Miku mumbled before she rubbed her eyes with the balls of her hands. "We really are tiny, huh?"

"I believe so," Len said. "I'm wearing a flower for crying out loud."

That made Miku snap her head up and observe Len's attire while he sat on the stool beside her bed. His shirt appeared to be made of white rose petals and trimmings of leaves. The pants Len wore were not very different in design, and a belt that Miku suspected to be made from a root hung around the boy's waist. She then looked at herself and saw she was wearing a similar outfit. "What happened to our clothes?" Miku asked.

"They were wet so we had to take them off," Len answered. "Merli said we'll get them back before we leave."

Not knowing how to respond, Miku only pursed her lips and nodded. She had no idea who Merli was but decided against asking just yet.

"We do have a big problem though," Len suddenly said. Before Miku could ask what, he continued, "We can't find the mushrooms you had. We have all of our other supplies, but not the mushrooms. I think . . . I think they have been lost when we jumped into the river."

Swearing aloud, Miku facepalmed herself and said, "Now how are we supposed to grow tall again?"

"Don't worry," Len tried, "we'll find something."

"Easier said that done," Miku argued, sitting back up. Len tried to force her back down, but she shook off his touch and refused to budge. "With the exception of mushrooms, the only other way for any of us to change sizes is by magic potions, and, last I checked, we don't know anybody capable of making such potions."

"Perhaps the fairies will help," Len suggested. "They have been taking good care of you all two days you were fading in and out-"

"Two days?!" Miku interrupted. "I was out for that long?"

"You were very beat up compared to me," Len said. "Plus that body isn't yours, and according to Gumi - one of the fairies - it's difficult for your will to immediately recover from sudden events like that. She said it would take some time before you came back around."

"Still," Miku groaned as she threw herself down, "that's two whole days gone, and we're no closer to finding the Vorpal Blade than we were when we left the Mad Hatter's."

Len opened his mouth to respond, but whatever he was about to say was lost when a soft knock on the other side of the door stopped him.

"Sorry to interrupt," Lapis said as she entered the room, "but I heard voices so I assumed that the girl is awake. May I come in?"

"Yeah, come in. I'm awake," Miku said as she sat up again. Try as she might, Miku could not look away from Lapis's beautiful blue butterfly wings. "I'm Miku, by the way."

"I know," Lapis smiled. "Len told us who you were. He spoke pretty highly of you. Anyway, I'm Lapis, and my sister Merli is-"

"Right here," Merli cut in as she walked through the door and softly closed it behind her. "I have a few questions to ask, if you don't mind."

"Fire away," Miku crossed her arms.

"Merli," Len said, "Miku just woke up. Shouldn't she have some time to rest before you begin questioning her?"

"No," Miku answered. "I can answer questions. Now ask me what you want to know, Merli."

Merli seemed impressed that Miku could address her as if the two had known each other long. With a quick flip of her hair, Merli asked, "Where is you want to go and why? What were you doing that lead you to wash up along our river?"

Not hesitating to answer, Miku replied, "My friend Len and and I were just leaving the Mad Hatter's cottage when we were chased by a toothed flying lizard. In order to save ourselves, we each ate a mushroom that shrunk us to this size, and we escaped by jumping into the river. I don't know exactly where I'm going, but I wish to retrieve the Vorpal Blade."

Merli, Lapis, and even Len widened their eyes at the bold answer. _Why would Miku tell perfect strangers that we want to obtain the most powerful weapon in Wonderland?_ Len wondered._ I can understand telling the sisters about the Hatter and the flying lizard, but this?_

"Do you have a death wish?" Merli asked after a solid minute of stunned silence.

"It's the only thing I can think of that will help us defeat Alice," Miku answered.

"Who's to say the blade will be of any use to you?" Merli raised an eyebrow.

"If you control the blade," Miku replied, "you control the monster entrapped in it." Len didn't understand what Miku was saying, but Merli sure did.

"You're going to get yourselves killed," she said as she shook her head.

"But it fits the prophecy," Lapis said. When all eyes were on her she explained, "The prophecy said that the weapon of those who defeat Alice will be fear. Who's to say that by fear it meant the master of fear itself?"

"How do you know these children are the ones spoken of in the prophecy?" Merli asked her sister.

"Look at them," Lapis answered. "The only immediate difference between them is their eye color. 'Eyes of grass and eyes of sky,' remember?"

"There's still their relationship," Merli replied.

"What do you think Len's and my relation is, exactly?" Miku asked.

"You're obviously siblings," Merli answered. "You certainly look enough alike."

"That's the thing," Len cut in, "Miku's not my sister; Rin is." The fairies gave questionable glances to both of the blonde haired humans. Len explained further, "Miku was Alice's third victim. Miku escaped before Alice could sacrifice her, and Alice has now taken Rin, my sister, as a replacement."

"So now I'm using his sister's body," Miku said. "Perhaps in this body Len and I are siblings, but the reality is we're near strangers."

Merli and Lapis both took in the information. "I didn't believe I'd live to see the day the prophecy would be fulfilled," Merli finally said, her voice soft and quiet.

"So you'll help us?" Len asked, hope dripping out of his voice.

"Yes," Merli said, "but only because you have the qualities of Wonderland's saviors."

"I'm taking Queen Alice is popular among your kind," Len said.

"She should have disappeared a long time ago," Merli said. "It's a shame Alice was never meant to live, but she had never the right to do what she has done to children."

"What do you mean Alice was never meant to live?" Miku asked.

"Don't you know how Wonderful was born?" Lapis asked. "Or how it continues to grow?"

"I'm afraid to say I don't," Miku answered with a small shake of her head.

"That's understandable," Merli said. "Most of Wonderland's citizens don't know, either, but we fairies have not forgotten.

"Wonderland is a place of dreams. Everything from the forests to the seas to the lands to its people all was born from a dream. We fairies are no exception.

"However, some dreams are so small that they disappear instead of growing into Wonderland. Alice was one of those small dreams. As with all dreams, she didn't want to disappear, but only she was determined to prevent her own disappearance. So she had the idea to receive help from the Nightmare."

"The Nightmare?" Miku and Len asked in unison.

"The Nightmare is to us what Hades is to those from the world above," Lapis answered. "Alice was given the ability to steal bodies from the Nightmare, and in exchange she sacrifices the souls of the bodies she steals to the Nightmare. It's a benefiting relationship, in it's sick and twisted way."

"The Nightmare has no power over us," Merli said, "but it worries me that it can give disappearing dreams this ability. What if other small dreams follow Alice's example? The children of your world will never cease to be in danger, and with no children from above to dream dreams, Wonderland will eventually come to ruin."

"That is why we need your help in finding the Vorpal Blade," Miku said. "We can stop Alice and take back what she stole from us. We can send a warning to all the other dreams what would happen to them if they try to repeat what Alice has done."

"You know this is practically a suicide mission, right?" Merli raised an eyebrow.

"We need that blade," Miku insisted. "I don't know what else we could do without it."

"Sorry to sound so ignorant," Len began, "but what makes the Vorpal Blade so special?"

"It contains the most powerful and evil thing in all of Wonderland," Lapis replied, shaking from the mere thought of it.

"If we obtain the Vorpal Blade," Miku said, "we will undoubtedly release something more dangerous than even Alice."

"And that would be?" Len felt nervous and was scared to know the answer.

Miku took a deep breath and looked Len dead in the eyes. "The Jabberwocky."


	4. Chapter 4

_Meiko hadn't been herself in the past few days. She was cold and distant, and she would sometimes even disappear for hours at a time. The behavior was so unlike her it made Yuki worry immensely for the woman who saved her from a raging bear only weeks ago._

_In an attempt to figure out what was wrong with Meiko, Yuki followed the woman into the forest one evening. It was there she witnessed Meiko about to kill a man with curly brown hair and dressed in a green coat._

_"Meiko, stop!" Yuki yelled as she ran towards Meiko and hugged the woman's legs. "Don't kill the him, Meiko! He's not hurting anybody."_

_"Off of me, kid!" Meiko snapped as she attempted to shake the girl off. When Yuki finally flew off, Meiko realized with annoyance that the man took the opportunity to flee. "Now I have to track him down," she sneered, not pleased with her new situation._

_"Meiko," Yuki rose to her feet and sobbed. "You're not yourself. Please be the Meiko I love again."_

_Meiko looked Yuki in the eyes. The brunette's intense stare scared Yuki stone still. "I'm not Meiko, dear little girl." The one who looked like Meiko raised her sword at the tear stained face. "My name is Alice." With that Alice struck the child in half with her sharp weapon._

"No more!" Rin cried. She was holding her head, sobbing uncontrollably as the memories forced themselves into her head. She was already shaking nervously, and her rocking back and forth wasn't easing the burden of Alice's past victims' memories. "Stop, please. I can't take it anymore. STOP!"

The memories did not stop.

_"Kaito's here!" Gakuko announced with joy when she recognized the blue haired man approaching the village. The purplette ran out to meet him, and she greeted him with a hug and a "Welcome back!"_

_Immediately sensing something was wrong, Gakuko broke the one sided hug and looked Kaito in his stone set eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked with concern, her brows pinching together. "You don't look well."_

_"I've never felt better a day in my life," Kaito replied, a smirk on his face. "As a matter of fact, I have a new song I'd like to sing for everyone."_

_Everyone welcomed the idea of a something new from Kaito, but Gakuko was eerily uncomfortable and suspicious. She decided to go inside and put away her family's share of crops before hearing Kaito's new song, and by the time she had finished with her chore and was back in the fields Kaito was nearly through singing._

_The song was incoherent, and the sound of it gave Gakuko a headache. However, everyone else seemed entranced by it. A little too entranced. It didn't take the girl too long to figure out what was going on._

_A gasp escaped Gakuko at the realization. She had heard of songs that could brainwash those who heard them, but she never would have imagined Kaito learning them, let alone singing those same songs to the people he called friends._

_"Kaito, what are you doing?" she asked from behind the audience, horrified. "Why are you brainwashing everybody?"_

_Kaito stopped singing at the sound of her high voice and glared at Gakuko and said, "Why aren't you my slave? Did you not hear my song?"_

_"What's wrong with you?!" Gakuko demanded, a sob rising in her throat. "I thought you were our friend."_

_"I have no friends," Kaito simply said. To the crowd he said, "Kill the unbeliever."_

_As the crowd of mindless zombies began approaching Gakuko, she backed away as she asked, "Why are you doing this, Kaito?"_

_"Foolish woman!" Kaito said. "I'm not your friend Kaito. I'm Alice."_

_Gakuko's screams filled throughout the village farms._

"No more. Please, no more." Rin kept crying. The memories would not stop, despite her many pleas. "Help me," Rin whispered. "Someone, anyone, help me."

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Drumming her fingers on the pebble table, Miku stared out the window as she prayed for the rain to pass. It took Miku three days for Gumi to deem her well enough for travel, and now she had to wait for the rain to pass because traveling through the rain when you're only four inches tall is ridiculously dangerous. Another second past was another second closer to Alice sacrificing Rin to the Nightmare, meaning all of the time until then was delicate and precious. Now because of the rain that same delicate and precious time was being wasted.

"You're acting calmer than you look," Len observed from the other side of the room. When he wasn't spending his days sparring with the fairies, he curled up in Miku's borrowed room and read through one of the tiny fairy books from the library below ground.

"I'm not hiding my irritation well, am I?" Miku asked with a sigh. Len didn't have to answer. While Miku watched the rain, Len pretended to take interest in his novel with leaf pages, similar to the clothes they both wore. It was unusual for the both of them to be wearing plants, but they decided to wait until they were heading out to put the clothes Teto gave them back on. As least fairy clothes weren't uncomfortable.

"Say, Miku," Len called as he set down the book. "I know this is kind of a rude question to ask, but what was your life like before you came to Wonderland?" Miku gave Len a look of horrified shock. "I'm sorry," Len immediately apologized. "I shouldn't have said anything. Forget I asked."

"No," Miku shook her head. "It's okay. I . . . I want to tell you. I want my friend to know more about me." It was the second time Miku had ever called Len her friend, and the event was enough to make Len feel so fortunate to have Miku with him during this dangerous journey. Besides, it had amazed Len so much that Miku trusted him enough to tell him about herself. It had only been a week now since she came into his life, a fact Len couldn't believe because it felt as if they have been traveling together longer.

"I was one of those unloved children, you could say," Miku began her story, her eyes trained on the window. "My mother died giving birth to me, and my father never really wanted a girl in the first place. When I was two he remarried, and by the time I was three he had a son with his new wife. That was when he stopped paying any attention to me at all. I was sent away to boarding schools a lot. I hated it so much that I was anything but a good girl. I got kicked out of every boarding school my father sent me to. Needless to say that didn't help our relationship out at all.

"I ran away when I was maybe a little younger than you. I don't know, I could have been fourteen. It was too long ago for me to remember.

"Anyway, I ran away and spent maybe some years living with my mother's sister. I was happy there, until my aunt married and her husband didn't want me around. They were going to send me back to my father's, so I ran away from her, too. It was then I found a little white rabbit in the woods."

Len didn't need Miku to finish; he knew how the story went from there. Miku looked at him to see his reaction and then returned to gazing out the window as the rain fell harder than before. After twenty minutes of silence, Len finally said, "Rin and I are orphans." Miku turned around and again looked at Len, her eyes widening in surprise. "Our parents died some months before we came here," Len went on to say. "We were sent to live with our uncle. It was horrible. He drank a lot, and sometimes he would beat us."

"I'm so sorry," Miku said quietly, not knowing what else to say. What would you even reply to something like that?

"Don't be," Len said. "It's not your fault."

"Doesn't mean I can't sympathize," Miku lamely replied.

"That's why I have been thinking . . . ," Len trailed off, unsure whether or not to say what was on his mind. Deciding he could tell Miku anything, Len tried again. "I've been thinking that after we get Rin back, she and I stay here in Wonderland."

Miku looked at Len as if he was crazy. "Why would you want to stay in Wonderland, especially after all that has happened to you and your sister?" she asked.

"Well do you plan on leaving after you get your body back?" Len countered.

Looking at the hands that weren't hers, Miku thought long and hard about the question. "I want to leave," she whispered. "I want to leave so badly, but I don't really have a choice. I've been pretty much dead for twenty-five years, Len. If I go back they'll ask me where I've been all this time. What would I say? That I was in Wonderland the entire time? They would lock me away and never let me out. I want to go, but I know I shouldn't. Besides, I have nothing waiting for me on the outside. I have nothing to live for out there."

"I don't have anything on the outside, either," Len said after a moment of silence. "All I have is Rin. Without Rin, I have absolutely nothing. When I thought I had killed her . . . I was . . . I was devastated. I had nothing to live for. The only thing I live for right now is finding her again. After that, I don't know. We might just find a place to call home somewhere in Wonderland, because I'm not taking her back up there for her to get beat every time our uncle drinks too much."

The silence that followed was deafening. "You really love her, don't you?" Miku asked in a voice so quiet that Len barely heard her.

"More than anything," Len didn't hesitate to answer.

Miku again looked at Rin's hands. Curling the fingers into a fist, Miku hated herself even more for having to use Rin in such a way. She hated everything about what she was. _I'm no better than Alice_ Miku thought._ I just use someone else's body because I don't have one of my own. I'm practically a parasite._

"I'm glad you're here with me," Len suddenly said out of the blue, making Miku snap her head in his direction. "I don't know where I would be right now if we didn't meet that day," he went on to say. "I'd probably be dead. Rin would definitely be dead. Alice would continue luring children here and making them suffer as we have. Really, meeting you has been the best thing that has happened to me ever since I came to this twisted place."

"Same," Miku whispered. "Sure, it was fun before, but that was so long ago the times I spent when I first came to Wonderland seem like nothing more than a dream. Now it's a constant battle for survival, and it all started when we met." Seeing Len's face drop, Miku quickly said, "I didn't mean it like that! Sure, things are hard, but it's so much better than not having anyone to talk to. I was awfully lonely all those years as a ghost. No one could see or hear me, and now I have someone. It's a little weird, this friendship, but I wouldn't trade it away for anything." After she finished, Miku slammed her mouth shut and fought the blush rising in her cheeks. _Did I really just say that? _Perhaps it wouldn't have been so bad if not for the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Standing, Len approached Miku and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, it's okay," he soothed. "It's going to be okay."

"I hope so," Miku whispered as she leaned into the hug and felt Len stroking her back. Laughing slightly, Miku said, "We make an odd pair of siblings, huh?"

It was enough to make Len chuckle. "Now that I think about it," Len began to say, "I have two twin sisters."

"And I have a twin brother," Miku smiled. The light joking was making her feel better about being a body borrower, about Alice, about Len, and about everything else. _I almost wish Len was actually my brother . . ._ Miku sighed. _I'm terrified to lose his friendship._

After they had finished hugging and returned to their previous activities, Miku began humming slightly. Len didn't like the creep vibe he was getting from the tune, and shivers went down his spin when Miku began to sing to the beat.

_The first Alice was a wrathful woman of the Spade,_

_And righteously she held a sharpened blade within her hand,_

_Never hesitating to slay all within her way,_

_Creating paths of blood that followed her through Wonderland._

_Deep into the darkened forest Alice walked the line,_

_Captured and imprisoned as the embodiment of sin._

_If it were not for the murderous wake behind_

_No one would have suspected that she had ever been._

Len felt frozen all over. Why was Miku singing about the first Alice? When did she come up with this song? Miku began her next verse before he could ask.

_The second Alice was a fragile man of the Diamond;_

_The broken echo of the lies within demented words._

_He sang his twisted melodies to all in Wonderland,_

_Creating the image of the sick and disturbed._

_Deadly yet so beautiful, a voice just like a rose._

_Was shot by a madman who silenced him to death._

_Single rose bloomed in his place with no music composed._

_With a twisted grin this dying man lay breathing his last breath._

Out of curiosity, Len waited to see if Miku would sing about what Alice had done to her. He didn't know whether he was happy when Miku began her next verse or anxious to learn more about what Alice did.

_The third Alice was an innocent young girl of Club,_

_An enchanting graceful figure in the world of Wonderland._

_She charmed the people in the land to every beck and call,_

_A peculiar country answering to each demand._

_So she rose into the throne to be the country's queen,_

_Consumed by the paranoia of her own impending death._

_Soon the queen succumbed to a dark and nightmarish dream._

_Disguised in kindness, loathing fate, she secured her regime._

As Len was about to ask what Miku meant by "answering to each demand," she surprised him by starting a fourth verse. His and Rin's verse.

_As this passed two children walked in the woods,_

_Partaking in tea underneath the trees, they'd never part._

_They found an invitation to the queen._

_It was the Ace of Hearts._

_The fourth Alice was a duo of curiosity._

_Both were lost and could not find the boat where they began,_

_And so they ran through countless open doors so recklessly,_

_A brother and a sister running wild through Wonderland._

_A stubborn elder sister._

_A witty younger brother._

_But they had strayed too far into Alice's Wonderland._

Silence. Len thought Miku was finally finished, but he watched to be sure. Miku then opened her mouth to sing two last lines.

_They were never woken from their terrifying dream._

_Forever they would wonder in this twisted fairytale._

What Miku had meant when she said those lines, Len did not know for certain, but he suspected it meant that despite Miku's apparent faith and confidence in their mission, she was secretly certain they were going to fail.

* * *

Author's Note: Happy Easter everyone! :D

The English lyrics to Alice Human Sacrifice are not mine! They belong to the wonderful rockleetist. If you have not heard her cover of the song, I highly recommend you check it out on YouTube. :)

Also, there is a Kagamine Rin music box cover of the song, and, since Miku-Sama is in Rin-Chan's body and thus technically has her voice, you can listen to the cover and pretend that Miku-Sama is singing it while Len-Kun watches from a distance. I mean, I do it all the time it fits so well. :P

-Ray


	5. Chapter 5

_He was somewhere, Alice knew. The man was not ignorant to what she was, and she couldn't afford anyone finding out about her. If anybody knew what happened to the real Meiko Sakine, everything would go to hell._

He can't hide forever_ Alice internally growled as she walked deeper into the forest, a trail of blood following her._

_Alice's methods were simple: If anyone is in your way, then take them down. People move out of your way a lot quicker when they see you slice someone like freshly baked bread, so going around individuals never has to be an option. There wasn't a single soul that didn't fear Alice. Well, there was indeed one, but Alice had plans to eliminate him. Such a shame his trail was too easy to follow._

_Or so she thought._

_The man was clever enough to lead her to the prison for the worst of sinners, and Alice wasn't careful enough to go around the bush. Once the bush sensed how many people Alice had killed, monsters that appeared to be demons emerged from the bush and began to attack Alice. The monsters were also human in appearance, but their featureless black bodies, faceless heads, and inhuman movements made them one's worst nightmare come to life._

_"Ge-get away!" Alice cried as she slayed each demon that came at her. The monsters cut like butter, not making the combat difficult at all. Except after about three seconds, the demons would reform and begin attacking Alice again. No matter how many she took down in a single slash, they would always come back up angrier and more determined to put an end to her._

_"Leave me alone!" Alice shouted as she continued to prevent them from getting her, but it was no use. One demon, after being sliced down about five times, angrily snatched the sword out of Alice's hand and threw it down, leaving Alice weaponless._

_No longer able to defend herself, Alice was unable to fight off the demons as they wrapped their arms around her. They dragged her into the bushes and began to cover her entire body._

I will NOT be dying today_ Alice decided before fleeing the body, leaving behind what was once the shell of a sweet young woman by the name of Meiko Sakine to be kept as a prisoner of sin and to spend forever rotting in the strange prison._

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"Are you sure we can make this journey despite being four inches tall?" Len asked as he gathered his things. Now that the rain had passed, he and Miku had changed back into the clothes they were wearing when they shrunk and were preparing to leave.

"Honestly? No," Miku answered as she tried the short blonde hair back into a ponytail. "We might as well try, though. I'd rather die trying than die doing nothing." Seeing Len's dark expression, Miku said, "Don't worry, I won't let Rin's body die. I was only-"

"Never mind," Len waved her off. "Is everything ready for us to go?"

"Everything's set," Miku said, slinging the pack over her shoulders. The blonde teens left the tree to met with Merli and Lapis at the entrance, the sisters both wanting to give their unexpected guests some final advice.

"Find CUL," Lapis said, her small voice strong and insistent. "She's really good at making potions, especially ones that can change your height. Look for a wooden wagon with purple curtains and you can't miss her."

"Thank you, Lapis," Miku said to the tiny girl. To Merli, "And I should find the Vorpal Blade deep within the Cave of Reflections, right?"

"Precisely," Merli responded. "The main reason the Vorpal Blade is so safe in the cave is because the journey through it is nearly as dangerous as freeing the Jabberwocky itself. You will be forced to relive dark moments of your past, and the closer to the Vorpal Blade you get, the higher your chances are of hallucinating. The Jabberwocky may not be able to hurt anyone while trapped inside the blade, but don't think the influence of fear won't reach you. You may have to face your fears, and if you do it will be extremely difficult to convince yourself it's not real. You both may even kill each other while under the illusions."

"That's wonderful," Len sighed. "So no army or guards protecting the Vorpal Blade?"

"You don't need to protect something that could kill you to retrieve." Merli took a deep breath. "If you truly are the ones spoken of in the prophecy, then there should be no reason to worry. You will reach the Vorpal Blade, and you will control the Jabberwocky."

"Even if our success has been prophesied, that does not mean this will be easy," Miku said as she looked in the direction of the mountain her and Len would be traveling to. "'Death shall come to a friend,' meaning someone is going to die. No matter what happens, death is unavoidable. The only question is . . . who's going to die?"

"Prophecies aren't always so crystal clear," Merli said, though there was no denying she was only saying that to make the teens feel better. "Death could mean anything."

"You do have to kill Alice for her reign to end," Lapis added.

"Only she's not a friend," Len reminded the blue haired fairy. "How could she be a friend when she kidnapped my sister in order to sacrifice her?"

Miku slowly twirled around the unsheathed sword in her hands. Alice had to die, no doubt about that, but it seemed someone had to die as well in order to accomplish such a task. Watching the light reflect off the sword and bounce around their surroundings, Miku held the sword still when she caught her reflection. Rin had to be rescued, even if it meant making sacrifices. Maybe death was another word for sacrifice. Maybe something had to be sacrificed, but what?

"We shouldn't wait any longer," Miku said as she sheathed her sharp blade. "Being this tiny, we probably won't make it to CUL's wagon for a couple of days."

"I'd lend you a robin, but the queen doesn't want to risk them," Merli sighed in regret.

"It's okay, you already helped us more than you know," Miku smiled. "I will send word as soon as I can."

"We will patiently await for your message," Merli replied.

Holding out her hand, Miku said, "It was a pleasure to meet you, the both of you."

Merli stared at Miku's outstretched hand, obviously not knowing what to do with it. "Um," she reached out and held Miku's hand in her own, "may the stars guide you on your journey." After Miku bounced their hands up and down, Merli kissed her index and middle fingers before pressing them against Miku's forehead. "'Shall the sun never cease to shine for you,'" she quoted.

"'And the stars never forget to spell your name in the nighttime sky,'" Miku replied before Merli could remove her fingers.

Smiling with pleasant surprise, Merli asked, "Where did you learn the departing phrase used by the fair folk in ancient times to wish a friend well when they ventured off on a perilous journey?"

"It's amazing the things you learn after spending twenty-five years as a ghost," Miku answered.

"Until we meet again, Michaela," Merli said. To Len Merli added, "I hope you find your sister in time. Let your love for her pull you through, Alexiel."

Len almost told Merli that his name wasn't Alexiel, but something inside told him not to. Instead Len said, "Thank you for everything."

"Have a safe journey, Len," Lapis said before looking away, a rose pink blush covering her cheeks. "And you too, Miku," she quickly added.

Waving at the fairies, Miku and Len began to travel in the direction they were pointed to take. "I think Lapis has a crush on you," Miku teased after the fairies were out of sight as she playfully punched Len's shoulder.

"She's cute," Len replied, "but she's not my type."

"You have a type?" Miku snickered, eyebrow raised and lips pulled into a knowing smile.

"Doesn't everyone?" It was Len's turn to blush. The look Miku gave him made the boy squirm in his own skin.

"I suppose so," Miku shrugged, facial expression returned to normal.

"Then what's your type?" Len asked.

Miku burst out into a fit of laughter. "That's pretty straightforward, huh?" Len shyly looked away from the look Miku was again giving him, feeling like a child caught doing something embarrassing. "I suppose my type would be the kind who wouldn't mind being with a woman who's been dead for twenty-five consecutive years," Miku answered with a shrug, her face dropping for a second time.

Not knowing how to respond, Len mentioned what Merli had incorrectly called them and wanted to know why Miku didn't correct her. "You don't know much about fairies, do you?" Miku looked Len in the eyes. Without waiting for Len to reply Miku continued, "Merli is a high fairy, making her sort of a princess to her people. Do you have any ideas why the high fairy called us by names that aren't the ones our parents gave us?"

"She doesn't like our names?" Len guessed.

"That could be a reason," Miku said, "but for a high fairy to give you a new name means she has accepted you as one of her own. We have been accepted as members of the fairies."

"So without actually being fairies, we're still a part of their society," Len put the pieces together.

"Exactly. We now have allies in them, and we can count on them to fight against Alice with us."

"Merli must really have a lot of faith in us if she would accept near perfect strangers as part of her kind."

"Another reason we can't afford to fail on this mission," Miku breathed out heavily as they continued to trudge forward.

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It was so boring inside the crystal ball prison that Rin actually looked forward to Queen Alice's visits. The queen could rant over anything, be it the location of Len and Rin's body, how she's continuing to grow old, and sometimes even the weather. "Why is the weather perfectly sunny?" Queen Alice would ask. "I'm having a crisis here and there's not so much as a single cloud in the sky! Disgusting."

The rest of the day when Queen Alice was anywhere but the room, Rin would give anything for a book. Len had always loved to read and insist she give his favorites a try, but she never did. She almost gave _A Christmas Carol_ by Charles Dickens a chance, but that was it. All she ever gave was reading the cover. Len had received the copy from their parents as a gift on the twins' twelfth birthday and had read it in one sitting. Every time Charles Dickens had one of his novel chapters collected into one volume and released as a single book, Len had to have it, whereas all Rin ever wanted to do was play ball and force Len to play tag with her.

"I'd even do chores I'm so bored," Rin silently mused. The girl was so ready to leave her crystal prison cell it wouldn't have bothered her if it was time to be sacrificed. She was, in the truest sense, bored to death.

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After a day of traveling in silence, Miku and Len made camp under a tree root, their tiny size making the root feel more like a cave. They ate without speaking. They didn't know what to say, leaving silence to follow everywhere they went.

Finally, Miku sighed, pulled her legs to her chest, and rested her chin on her knees. "I have a confession to make." Before Len could respond, Miku said, "Rin's body and I are bonding."

Furrowing his brows, Len asked, "Is that a good thing?"

"It is definitely not a good thing," Miku answered, her tone neutral. "The longer I remain in this body, the more it becomes mine. . . . That includes memories and emotions, too."

"Wait," Len furrowed his brows more, if that was even possible, "so you're saying you can remember everything that ever happened to Rin?"

"No, or at least not yet." Miku chewed on her lip a moment before continuing. "It's crazy, but even though I hardly know you, I love you. Well, Rin's body does anyway. My dreams these past few nights, they have been Rin's memories. With each memory comes the emotions attached with it, and so much of her memories are filled with love for you." It was then Miku looked Len on the eyes, and he saw the tears streaming down her face. "Sometimes, the emotions are so strong that I am crushed with disappointment when I remember that you aren't really my brother."

"Miku . . . ," was all the dumbstruck boy could think to say. What could he say to someone who was suffering like this? Rin's body was becoming Miku's, but Miku would always be herself, and along with that came the knowledge that she could never truly have what Rin had, no matter how badly she wanted it.

"Sorry," Miku apologized after a moment too long of silence. Wiping her eyes, Miku added, "I had to confess that to you. If I spend too much time in this body, it's going to be all the harder for me to leave it."

"We'll find Rin in time," Len said with absolute certainty. "I know we will." Miku didn't respond. At a final attempt to make her feel better, Len added, "And for what it's worth, I love you too, Miku. I know it's very different for you than it is for me, but it's still insane to think I can grow to care for you so much in such a short amount of time."

Smiling weakly, Miku said, "Once I get my body back, it will all be sorted out." What she didn't say was, "You will easily forget about how you supposedly care for me once you have your sister back and I no longer use her face; but I will always, no matter how much I don't want to, love you because of how Rin loves you. You think you care about me because I look like Rin. That's fine. Except, against my will, I know what it's like to love you, and there will be no going back." The silence that followed lingered for what felt like hours. Both settled down, but they were too restless to sleep.

"Neh, Miku," Len called to the girl. When he saw he had her attention Len asked, "Would you mind teaching me how to fight with a sword? If we're going to be doing all these dangerous things, I had ought to learn how to defend myself and everyone around me."

"You might get hurt," the warning was Miku's solemn answer.

"Better than getting killed because I don't know how to use my sword," Len said as he looked at the sheath hiding the blade Miku allowed him to carry.

"Didn't you practice while we were with the fairies?" Miku asked. The fair folk were skilled with the art of sword fighting and had allowed Miku to train with them. After being dead for twenty-five years, Miku was rusty; and to top it off, Rin had never carried a sword before, leaving her body to find the movements unusual. However, after two afternoons spent training, Miku was able to wield the sword like she had when she first lived.

"I practiced some," Len answered as he played with the hem of his shirt, "but they didn't go very easy on me."

"That's how they train you to block," Miku said with a shrug. Standing to her feet, Miku said, "I'm not a good teacher, but I'm willing to see what you got."

"Promise you won't kill me?" Len smiled as he stood to his feet.

"Only on the condition you don't kill me," Miku replied as she drew her sword.

"One thing I'm quit curious about," Len said as he drew his own blade, "is why did our swords shrink with us? Shouldn't we, the ones who ate the mushrooms, have been the only ones affected and not the items we carried with us?"

"I can't say you don't have a point," Miku said as she positioned herself in a ready stance, "but don't dwell too much on it, Len. You'll spoil the mystery and fun in magic."

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"Do you think this is where CUL lives?" Len asked when he and Miku arrived at a wagon early the next day. It had purple curtains, so it had to be their destination. They both were sore and bruised from their night sparring for hours with no end, but the fun they had and the skills they sharpened were worth it.

"Only one way to find out," Miku bounced a shoulder before she walked up the wagon that was gigantic to the shrunken girl. "Give me a boost," she ordered Len when she realized she wouldn't be able to climb up the stairs as easily as she thought. "Once I'm up I'll pull you along, and we can repeat the process until we reach the top."

"And then what?" Len asked as he stood in alignment with Miku. "I don't think this CUL girl won't hear us knocking on her front door."

Chewing her lip, Miku answered, "Getting her attention is definitely going to take effort, but I'm certain that once we tell her Lapis sent us, we should receive her help."

"Or y'all can stop talking and take in yer surroundings." Both Miku and Len turned behind them to see a red head as tall as them. "I've been standing over there," the girl pointed to the left, "the entire time, and y'all didn't even notice me. I overheard yer entire conversation for the love of all things, and I wasn't even quiet walking up to y'all!"

"Thinking too much numbs my senses," Miku threw in the lame explanation. "My hearing isn't what it should be when I'm in deep thought."

"Uh-huh," the girl shook her head. To Len, "And what's yer classic excuse?"

"I have no idea whatsoever ever in doing what it takes to stay alive," Len honestly answered, his shoulders shrugging against his will.

"Y'all too are such a sad pair," the girl shook her head. "I was gonna knock y'all unconscious fer trespassing, but since y'all know Lapis I believe I hafta listen what ya hafta say."

"How about we discuss this over a cup of tea?" Miku suggested with a smile. "You're CUL, right?"

"It's my name, don't wear it out," CUL replied. "I don't like tea, but I s'pose I can sit y'all down for a good ol' cup o' coffee."


	6. Chapter 6

_Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, yet it came as no surprise to Alice when he saw the man with a worn top hat on his head aiming a gun at him._

_After several months of brainwashing the people of Wonderland, Alice had come close to having the will of all the people in the palms of his hands. With his beautiful voice and the forbidden songs he had stolen, nothing stood in Alice's way. Well, nothing except a madman who was mad enough to be unaffected by the power of the cursed lyrics._

_The moment Alice made eye contact with the man, a hiss escaped his lips. Never once had the Mad Hatter been someone Alice could tolerate. The feelings were mutual, or at least that was what Alice assumed when he saw the weapon pointed at him._

I am not dying today_ Alice decided as she left the body of the young man once known as Kaito Shion._

_When the body of the man collapsed after a bullet hit one of the temples, the crowd that had gathered around were broken from their trance. Everyone's first reaction was to be confused as they had no idea where they were or what they were doing. The majority of the crowd's second reaction was to scream when they noticed the man with the bullet wound in his skull. Blood poured everywhere, going as far as to stain the shoes of those nearby._

_The Mad Hatter retreated before anyone could ever suspect he was actually there._

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It was to Len's relief that CUL wasted no time in giving them a potion - in the form of a vanilla cake, Len was pleased to discover - to turn him and Miku back to normal size. However, CUL didn't dare let a single crumb reach their lips until after the red head was back to her usual height and made them both swear to play by CUL's rules. They agreed, of course.

"So Merli thinks y'all are the ones spoken of in the prophecy?" CUL asked, her heavy country dialect giving her a noticeable accent. The accent reminded Len of the men from the deep South he and Rin had met before.

"The Mad Hatter was the one who connected Len and me to the prophecy," Miku answered, "and it appears nobody is interested in doubting that we're those same, prophesied people."

CUL blew on her hot, black coffee. She had made a fresh pot and served both of them a cup, but the bitter drink didn't suit Miku's and Len's taste. Nonetheless, the teens drank the coffee in order to not be rude. "Y'all had better hope yer the ones spoken of in the prophecy or else y'all 're as good as dead."

_Well that's encouraging_ Len thought as he forced himself to injest the drink. If he could put sugar in the coffee, Len might like it more.

"I can only hope in such," Miku said as she gripped the mug so tightly that her knuckles began to turn white. "If Len and I aren't the ones spoken of in the prophecy and we fail, Rin will be sacrificed and I will never get my own body back." With a shake of her head, Miku added, "Not to mention who knows how many more kids Alice will kidnap and sacrifice before the real heroes come along. There's so much at risk here that we can't afford to fail."

"We won't," Len stated without a hint of doubt as he reached out and wrapped his fingers around Miku's as she continue to hold the mug. "You're far more knowledgeable about Wonderland than almost anyone who was born here - or at least that's what I picked up from hearing you mention so many kinds of things here so confidently, and you make sure that the risks are worth it before you take them. If anything, you are the one destined to save Wonderland."

Placing his hand back by his side, Len curled his fingers into fists and mumbled, "Whereas I can't do anything. I promised to protect my sister, but instead I nearly killed her. I tried to look out for you as we went through the Boro Grove, but all I did was fall for the trap and nearly killed you because of it. I've been nothing but dead weight, or better speaking, a death trap. The only thing I did right was let you use Rin's body, and even that was a blind leap of faith."

"Len," Miku said Len's name softly. CUL, unsure of what else to do, let out a strangled sigh before excusing herself from the conversation in favor of "checking up on the weather."

When the two were alone, Miku said quietly, "Don't talk about yourself like that. I know you are much stronger than you are giving yourself credit for." Closing her eyes, Miku let out a deep breath and said, "You remember when you and Rin were seven and Rin twisted her ankle by falling out of a tree?"

Len had to stop himself from sucking in a sharp breath. How many of Rin's memories were becoming Miku's? The longer Miku claimed the body, the more the body claimed Miku. Despite the body not being hers, eventually Miku and Rin's body will become one if they don't get the real Rin back soon. The more Miku's soul and Rin's body bonded, the harder it will be for Miku to exit herself without assistance.

"Rin was on the ground, crying her eyes out because of how badly her ankle hurt," Miku continued. "What did you do for her then? You comforted her and got her to smile, and then you carried her on your back all three miles to your home. Rin needed you then, and she needs you now. You have the spirit and will to save her, but you're not going to be of much help if you sit around and feel sorry for yourself."

"But I haven't done anything," Len reminded Miku as he made eye contact with her. "Everything happened because of you. You always know were to go for the next step, and you have made allies with everyone you have come across. Miku, you saved me from becoming a tree back in Boro Grove."

"No," Miku shook her head, "I didn't save you." She laid an index finger over Len's heart as she said, "Your love from Rin is what saved you. Had you not loved her half as much as you do, there would have been no way for me or anyone - Rin herself included - to get you out of that trance."

Shaking his head slightly, Len replied, "I don't doubt you're right, but I still have a long ways to go before I can really save anyone."

Miku placed her hand on her lap as she said, "I hope you stop doubting your abilities. I know it seems like I'm doing just fine on my own, but I really need you, Len. Especially in Cave of Reflections. Boro Grove was one thing, but that's going to seem a lot like a walk in the park compared to this. I know this sounds odd, but in the place where we are forced to live our worst fears, I'm going to need you a lot more than you're going to need me."

The last sentence left Len not knowing how to react. Miku needed him? Miku, the girl dauntless enough to walk into a cave where she knows she will be left fighting for her sanity, needed him, a boy so dependent on his sister that he has no reason to simply exist without his twin and other half by his side? He honestly couldn't believe it, regardless of how convincing Miku appeared to be.

Standing from the table and walking towards the window, Miku called, "CUL, when will you be ready to lead us to the mountain?"

"Sometime in the mornin'," CUL answered. "We have to pack good. The trip up there takes three days."

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The three day journey was not as bad as the group expected it to be. No attacks, no strange flying lizards trying to abduct any of them, and no mad man with a strange tea fetish. The silence was so still and peaceful that Miku and Len were both praying for some ugly monster to jump out and try to kill them. Things would have been less disturbing that way.

It was no secret that Queen Alice knew exactly where the teens were, so why was she leaving them alone? _Certainly she knows what we plan to do_ Miku thought each time she wondered why nothing seemed interesting in brutally murdering them. When she voiced this concern to Len, the blond replied, "Maybe Queen Alice believes that if she doesn't interfere with us as we enter the Cave of Reflections, we will end up killing ourselves and save her the trouble."

"That's most likely accurate," Miku responded with a deep exhale.

"I say don't look a gift horse in the mouth," CUL added. "Even if y'all will most probably die in there, at least the journey to yer death won't be spent stressing over the next monster ya fight."

"You're not helping," Len narrowed his eyes at the red head. CUL merely shrugged without a care.

"Still," Miku practically whispered, "all this peace is unnerving. When you're on the brink of war, any quiet is a bad sign."

"Y'all have to be the only ones in the universe who'd complain over too much quiet," CUL murmured. "Imma go on 'head and make sure everythin' stays peaceful. When y'all 're done grippin', catch up to me."

"All right, but don't get too far ahead," Miku said.

"Dont worry," CUL's retreating figure replied, "it ain't nothing but straight lines from here."

After CUL was a good distance ahead of them on the mountain trail, Len said, "You know, a monster attack wouldn't be too bad right now. I'd like to see how my sword skills have improved."

"Hey, you may be good, but you aren't that good," Miku said with a smile and a gentle bump into Len's shoulder. Every night since their first sparring practice at four inches tall, Miku and Len spent an hour or two before bed clashing their swords against each other. Rin's body finally got used to Miku's fighting style, and said girl was almost as good as she was before she had her body stolen from her. Len was a different story.

For some insane reason, the twig thin boy was a natural. He was surprisingly strong for a kid of skin and bones, and he had reflexes like none Miku had seen before. In less than a week, Len mastered all the basics and learned how to hold on his own against Miku. However, he had yet to spar anyone else. The boy needed a variety of sparring partners, and with only Miku to go against, his skills won't adapt to different styles. If a monster did attack them, the blond would probably be lunch meat.

Not that Miku was going to tell him such, of course.

"What do you think we will see in the cave?" Len then asked.

"Our worst memories. Our greatest fears," Miku answered with a shake of her head. "I can't say for sure; it's going to be different for the both of us."

"Have any idea what you might see?"

"For my worst memory? I have a pretty good idea. Or my worst fear? I'm not so sure. You?"

Humming in thought, Len replied, "I definitely know my worst memory, and I'm not excited about reliving it. My worst fear . . ."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Miku offered.

"No," Len answered. "I don't even want you to be around when I face it."

"But we need to stay together if we're to get through this," Miku said. Len didn't reply.

"Should we catch up with CUL?" Len asked after a while, the previous subject forgotten.

Miku shook her head, deciding against bringing up the last topic again. "No need. She's already stopped."

"This here's the entrance," CUL said, using her head to point at the mouth of the cave as Miku and Len came in hearing distance. The red head sat on a boulder as she went through her supply pack. "This here's also where I leave y'all to yer own devices," she added.

"Leading us this far is enough," Miku said. "Thank you for everything you've done for us."

"Don't mention it. Ever." CUL stood to her feet and slung her pack over her shoulders. "I'll be sure to send word to Lapis that y'all made it here safely." Without so much as a goodbye, CUL began to stalk away.

"She doesn't waste time, does she?" Len asked nobody as he watched the red head leave.

"Neither should we," Miku responded. Gulping, Miku said, "We should go, before fear overcomes us."

"Agreed," Len whispered. Just the mentioning of fear was enough for the emotion to start blooming in him.

Taking a deep breath, Miku forced the legs that weren't hers to carry her into the mouth of the Cave of Reflections. Len followed right behind.

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It was with satisfaction seeping through her pores Queen Alice watched the blonde teens enter the cave. "How they take the prophecy too literally," she laughed. "_'Their weapon will be fear'_? As if a prophecy could be so straightforward."

The queen spun on her heel and observed her prisoner, tiny inside the glass cell. "Your brother and his companion are going to get themselves killed." Petting the glass, she added, "And when that body snatched dies in your body, you will die too. I don't have to lift a finger."

Suddenly snatching her hand away as if the crystal was burning hot, Queen Alice mused, "Yet if they are the ones spoken off in the prophecy, then my ending is inevitable." Alice turned her green eyes on the terrified, pathetic blonde child. The girl's turquoise eyes were huge with fear, her mouth hanging agape. "You don't know what it's like not meant to exist," Alice growled. "Every soul has a purpose for being here, but not every dream is meant to last. The one who dreamt of me left me to die. If I didn't take matters into my own hands, I would have faded away into a little mist a long time ago. Now I'm stuck like this, unable to have my own body. At least," Alice ran her fingers through her green hair, "I get to choose what I look like. Everyone else is stuck with his own appearance."

Rin only looked up with fear, but not for Alice. The queen's words went unheard by the blonde girl. Instead all Rin could think about was her brother._ Is he insane?_ she asked herself. _Len's_ _going to get himself killed!_

Slumping her knees, Rin curled into a ball so tight it was almost as if she was trying to fold in on herself. She paid no attention to Alice's rant. All Rin could do was pray for the safety of her twin and his companion.

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The complete absence of light enveloped the teens. The further they walked into the cave, the more the darkness closed in on them and held them in its embrace. Miku and Len both felt the hairs on their necks stand on end, the blood in their veins chilled significantly, and every inch of their skin prickled until no place on their bodies remained that wasn't covered with goosebumps.

Not knowing who was the first to reach out - perhaps their fingers reached for the other's at the same time - Miku and Len intertwined fingers as they stood closer, their shoulders now touching. Miku's breath kept getting caught in short, shallow jerks, and it took everything Len had to remember how to breathe. Their harmonized heartbeats pounded wildly inside their respective rib cages. A cold sweat broke out on both of them. The deeper they went, the stronger the fear grew.

"Len," Miku shifted her gaze towards her companion. When their eyes locked, Miku's warning for Len to keep a hold of himself got caught in her throat. She couldn't force the words out. Fear and anxiety were taking up her very existence, growing stronger and more powerful with each and every passing second.

"It's okay," Len comforted, his fingers squeezing Miku's hand like a lifeline, "I'm scared too."

Choking back a building sob, Miku pressed her lips together and nodded. Yes, she did need Len more than he needed her. She may have had the courage to face fear, but only Len had the heart to overcome it. It was a powerful weapon, this boy's love. If the love he had for his twin sister could push Len this far, who knew what Len couldn't conquer. Not that any of this would be easy for the either of the teens, but of the two, Len was the one who had more important things to fight for.

The walk lasted only a few more minutes - minutes that felt like hours, days, and years when you're trembling and quaking where you stand - before a sudden breeze flew by. The heart Miku was borrowing stopped at that moment. _There's no way that was a draft. We can't even tell the difference between the back of our eyelids and what's in front of us!_

"Miku," Len gulped, "please tell me that was you who brushed the back of my neck."

"Trust me, Len," Miku whispered in response, "I wish it was."

"If it wasn't you," Len's voice cracked, "then who was it?"

"No one, I'm sure," Miku replied. "This cave is supposed to get inside our heads and make us fear things that are not even real. We can't let it get to us."

"If you say so . . . ," Len trailed off. Next he felt a hand brush against the small of his back, fingers trailing along his spine, and come to a rest on his shoulder. He held his breath, afraid of what would happen if he were to let it go.

"We should keep moving," Miku adviced, scaring Len more than it should. Though it was Miku who formed the words, it was Rin's voice who spoke them. Hearing Rin so scared and petrified did more to unnerved Len than anything this cave could possibly do to him.

Whispers echoed throughout the empty cave, breaking the otherwise deafening silence. Miku and Len pulled closer to each other, making the impossible possible as they were already touching shoulders, hips, and legs, and continued to carefully put one foot in front of the other. The voices began to hum, and then the something unexpected happened.

"Is there anybody out there?" the voice of a man questioned, freezing the teens in place and causing chills to run up and down the blondes spines.

"Who was that?" Len asked, teeth chattering like mad.

"I don't know," Miku answered, "but I don't want to hang around to find out."

They again started to move forward, but the ghostly voice asked again. "Is there anybody out there?"

"Let's go!" Len exclaimed as he began pulling Miku forward.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Miku replied as she, too, burst into the run.

Adrenaline kicked in, and the two were running faster than they ever had in their entire lives. Terror stabbed into them like fine needles, piercing through the skin and scrapping against the very bone. Warm, thick blood turned into solid ice. Air entered and exited their thin bodies too fast for their lungs to properly take in the oxygen. The run in fear left the teens dizzy and lightheaded, but still they ran. Screams - high pitched screams even less human than the voice - rang in their ears. No matter how hard the blondes tried to run from the screams, the horrible sound that echoed again and again like a broken record clung to them like a tick to its victim.

"Is there anybody . . . OUT THERE?!" the ungodly voice demanded for a third time.

"Yeah, we are!" Len gasped, barely able to catch his breath. "No will you please leave us alone?!"

The strange voice had no interest in listening. "Is there anybody out there?"

"Stop screaming," Miku whispered to the disembodied voices that kept crying out as if they were being tortured. The screams shouting in pain would cry, and screams of enjoyment would soon follow. It sounded as if this cave was playing cries of its past victims; those who came previously would scream in agonizing pain and fear, and the cave would scream back in joy from watching those trapped inside of it suffer.

"Miku!" Len called, tugging her forward when he felt her slowing. "Don't stop running. Keep moving forward! If we keep going, we will make it to the end and everything will be better."

"Don't be an idiot!" Miku cried as she tripped over her feet. As Len struggled to help keep her upright she sobbed, "This is a labyrinth. Things only get worse the further you progress!"

"Then keep moving," Len adviced as he gave her arms another pull. "If things can only get worse from here, then it's super important that we stay together."

Seeing the obvious truth to Len's words, Miku nodded despite Len not being able to see her in the darkness before she lurched forward. The teens again ran through the tunnel - hand in hand, footsteps falling into an identical pattern, and matching heartbeats keeping the same fast rhythm. The screams continued, feeding the fear to keep running and to not stop to catch their breaths.

"Is there anybody out there?!" the voice asked for a fifth time, a demonic growl added to it for this event.

Neither knew who shouted it; maybe both did at the same time, or maybe none of them did and it was an encouragement from the restless spirits, but "RUN!" became the only command that followed. Miku and Len tried to outrun the screams and the voice, but regardless of how far they went, there was no escape. None.

"Don't let go!" Miku exclaimed.

"I won't!" Len vowed, but it was too late. The ground disappeared beneath him, and before he knew it, Rin's hand was the only thing holding him up. This time it was Len's turn to shout, "Don't let go!"

"Len!" Miku cried out in fear. Only it wasn't fear for him. She cried in fear for herself. Something was happening.

"Miku?!" Len tried to call. No response. "MIKU?!"

"KYYYAAAAA!" Miku shouted as her hand was suddenly yanked from his.

As Len fell into the depths of the pit, Len knew that the landing would be painful.

But the crash he was soon to experience would be nowhere near as painful as the stab he felt when he heard Miku's high pitched screams come to an abrupt end.

* * *

Author's Note: The last scene, when Miku-Sama and Len-Kun, are scared inside the cave, was inspired by the instrumental (or whatever it's properly called, because I know it's not a song) "Is There Anybody Out There?" by Pink Floyd. I heard it on the way to church one day, and the scene just fell in place with the haunting music. Not that I'm sure most of you care, but I wanted to give credit where credit is due. I mean, this last scene would not exist if not for the music, and, quite frankly, I like that scene. :)

-Ray


	7. Chapter 7

The dress hugged her waist and firmly grasped her form, revealing just what type of figure she had. Her waist was thin, her hips wide, and her chest - though on the small side - filled out well. The silky locks were piled on the top of her head, and only light amounts of make-up were applied to her face. Her skin was creamy pale and flawless, her eyes like rare jewels.

Green was the color of the corset of the dress, and the skirt was a mixture of emerald with gold lacing. The sleeves puffed up on the shoulders. Her elbow length gloves were a light shade of mint. A diamond crested choker wrapped around the girl's slim neck. She would be, as her aunt had said, the girl everyone would have his eye on.

_I really have become beautiful_ the girl thought as she looked at her reflection staring back at her. _I look so . . . grown-up. Only, I don't want to be an adult._

Sighing, the girl turned away from the mirror and sat on her bed. That night was the ball her aunt had been planning for months, yet it was dread instead of excitement that filled the girl. As accepting as her aunt was of the girl not desiring to rush into anything, her uncle was ready for her to be married off. It was no secret that he never took a liking to her, but neither the girl nor her aunt acted as if they had caught on.

_This isn't what I want._ The girl let out out a deep breath and shouted out. "This isn't what I want!" After waiting to make certain that nobody would rush in to see if she was all right, the girl pulled her knees to her chest and hugged herself, not caring that the dress might wrinkle.

Sobbing, the girl lied on her bed and curled into a small ball. She allowed herself to cry, but not for long. Before any serious damage could come to her make-up, the girl rose from her low position and wiped her eyes with her handkerchief.

With a small sigh, the girl again looked into the mirror to make any and every necessary adjustment to her appearance. Finding everything in its place, she left her room to meet with her aunt and uncle as they prepared to welcome their many guests for the nighttime event.

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The impact as his body landed from the fall made Len felt as if he had broken every bone in his body. There wasn't a part of him that wasn't in pain, but that didn't stop him from struggling to his feet as he called for a single person.

"Miku? Miku? Miku, where are you?!" No answer. Len swore under his breath. One minute Miku and he were running through the cave as they tried to escape whatever was after them, and the next the ground magically vanished from beneath his feet. Miku was holding him up, until something pulled her away and silenced her screams. "MIKU?!"

Unsure of what else to do, Len continued forward without ceasing to call Miku's name. They were supposed to stick together in order to help the other through their worst memories and greatest fears, but apparently the Cave of Reflections had different plans for the teens.

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The ball, as predicted, was dreadfully boring. Alone in her corner in the back, the girl fanned herself to hide the cupcake she was eating underneath the small decoration. Had her uncle known that she was stuffing her face instead of socializing, she would have been forced to meet every eligible man for marriage, even if some of those men were thirty or so years older than she.

Once the small cake was no more, the girl snapped her fan shut and watched as the older people conversed amongst one another while the young people searched for suitable dancing partners. She lazily leaned against the wall and allowed a yawn to pass through her lips. Already she couldn't wait for the party to be over, and it was only seven in the evening.

"Not much of a dancer, I assume?" a deep voice said, startling the girl. When she turned to see how has spoken to her, she found a tall man with finely trimmed dark brown hair and sparkling green eyes smiling at her.

"No, I am not," the girl answered before taking her gaze off the young man. He had to have been in his early to mid twenties, much too old for a freshly sixteen-year-old girl such as herself.

"Mind if I ask you your name?" the man asked, a charming smile upon his face.

"What is your name?" the girl countered, reopening her fan and fawning it for nothing more than dramatic effect. "Certainly you wouldn't dare ask me for my name without first telling me yours."

"As you wish." The man bowed. "My name is Satoshi Dinsmore. What are you called, my dear lady?"

"Mikaera Langston," she answered dryly. "My family simply calls me Mikaera."

"Well, Miss Mikaera," Satoshi purred, "would you care to grant me a dance with someone as beautiful as yourself?"

A rejection was forming on her lips, but before the words could be uttered out, Mikaera noticed her uncle staring at her from across the dance floor. If she refused Satoshi, her uncle would see it, and there would be a lot of anger and yelling at the girl for such an act. Composing herself, Mikaera replied, "I would love to dance with you." The lie even had her convinced.

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It came so suddenly and unexpectedly that Len took longer than necessary to process what was happening.

Before him was his uncle, drunk and irritated. The collar of his stained white shirt was ruffled and distorted, and his tie was completely undone. He sat in an old chair with blotches on the arm rests. His beady eyes were narrowed to be nothing more than slits in his face, and his mouth twisted in ways that lips shouldn't be able to shape.

Standing in front of the man were the twins, his niece and nephew, the children of his least favorite brother, innocent with their wide eyes and trembling forms. The children linked hands as they stood before their uncle, praying that he would dismiss them and they could hide under the bed as they normally do when he was this drunk. He always did this. He would come home wasted, demand the children stand before him, and, if he found any reason to be displeased with either of them, he would beat the two until they were begging for mercy. He was careful to never leave any permanent marks. Too careful. Nobody ever believed the children when they spoke of their abusive uncle, leading for them to get punished for opening their mouths. Both learned quickly that silence was their only friend.

If Len, taking in the scene before him, was supposed to be reliving his worst memory, he knew what was coming next. He spent weeks trying to forget about it, but his nightmares acted as constant reminders. This, Len knew, was going to bring back all the pain and horror he felt the same day the very event happened.

He didn't hear what was being said, but that didn't matter. It wasn't what was said that was terrifying, but what visually happened when Rin, having no control over herself, smart mouthed to the drunk when he said something she didn't like. What it was that upset Rin so, he couldn't remember precisely. Something about Len being weak and worthless. Or perhaps Len being a disgrace to the Kagamine name. Either way, this all started when Rin choose to stand up for her little brother.

Len wanted to look away, but his eyes ignored his will and watched crisply as their uncle jumped to his feet and slapped Rin across her face so hard that the tiny blonde girl fell to the floor, her hand ripped out of Len's in the process. She hit her head on the coffee table on the way down, blood already starting to seep from the wound. Other than a weak wince, Rin remained absolutely quiet.

"RIN!" Len shouted despite knowing that she couldn't hear him. It was almost as if he was actually there as the events unfolded. The Persian rug was beneath the soles of his shoes, the small, wooden drawers threatened to bruise his knees if he accidentally stumbled into one, and the redding of Rin's cheek due to the blow and the blood drying on her golden locks were crystal clear happening before him. It was Len was truly present but was unable to do anything but watch as the events unfolded.

Len, strangled with helpless sorrow, witnessed as memory Len was knocked into the wall in an effort to hold his uncle back from hitting Rin again. Len wanted to help so terribly that it hurt him to his core, strangling his heart; but when he tried his fingers found nothing to latch onto, his body went through what should have been solid objects. Len was there, but he was a ghost. He could speak, but he wouldn't be heard. He could reach for, but he couldn't touch. He could witness everything under the sky, but nobody would ever think for half a second that he was there.

_I wonder if this is what it was like for Miku all those years as nothing more than a soul_ Len wondered against his will. _You're there and you're witnessing everything around you, but you're powerless to do anything about it._ The thoughts made Len feel grief over Miku, now having a taste of what her twenty-five years dead must have been like. The grief, however, was short lived, as Len helplessly watched as his uncle continued to beat Rin.

The intoxicated man punched her in her face and kicked her in the stomach. Rin did an amazing job of keeping herself from crying out in pain, but Len - both memory Len and present - sobbed for the man to stop. Len hated himself for being unable to do anything but observe the events, but not half as much as he hated his past self for not doing anything when he could have taken action. His sister was inflicted with continual pain, but he did nothing to end it. He tried once and gave up after being tossed aside like nothing more than a rag doll. Len shouldn't have done that. He should have fought like hell to get their uncle off his sister. Protecting Rin was what should have consumed his small body, not fear of what the drunk would do to the boy if Len pushed him too far.

When their uncle finally quit throwing punches at the crumpled girl on the floor, Rin, on top of her bleeding head, had a bloody nose and black eye, a badly bruised stomach, and possibly cracked ribs. All the while Len still did nothing beyond begging and sobbing. Rin took the beatings without so much as crying in pain, yet Len had tears streaming down his face for merely watching. He should have done something, but instead he held back for fear of his own punishment. Len, the present Len, the one reliving the event for what felt like the millionth time, wanted to knock some sense into his past self. The incident only happened two months ago, but for Len it was something he relived every night. Never once did the pain of his own cowardice ease.

Shortly after the incident, Rin had told Len over and over that there was nothing he could have done to stop it, but Len believed differently. While his twin sister suffered severe punishment merely for standing up for her brother for being weak, Len did not do anything to save his sister. After that his uncle severely mocked him, taunting him that he truly was weak if he could do nothing but watch as his twin took the beating for him.

"I will _not_ be that person anymore," Len of the present vowed, his form trembling with anger and hatred. He dug his nails so deeply into his palms that the skin broke and started to bleed. "No matter what, I will find Rin and protect her. Never again shall fear rule over me. That is a promise."

Then, in the blink of an eye, just like that, the scene changed.

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The dance was bearable, but Mikaera showed no interest in dancing with Satoshi again. However, that did not stop him from attempting at conversation as the girl sipped a tall glass of Champaign.

"So, how are you acquainted with his Mr. Duke Wellington and his beautiful wife Lady Naomi?" he asked.

Twirling the bubbling liquid inside its glass prison, Mikaera answered, "I am the niece of the lady."

"My, my," Satoshi leaned closer, "now that you mention it, I can see the striking resemblance between you two."

"Lady Naomi and my mother were sisters," Mikaera said. "From what I have been told, they were near identical in appearance."

"I see," Satoshi said as he sipped his own beverage. All was well until a slave accidentally bumped into him, causing Satoshi to spill his Champaign all over the front of his coat. "Why you pathetic piece of-" Satoshi began as he reached out for her.

"Don't you dare touch her," Mikaera said as she stood in front of the slave girl and slapped Satoshi's hand away, all while managing not to drop her glass not spill a drop. "It was only an accident."

"Someone needs to punish this filth or else it will happen again," Satoshi spat. The kindness he wore on his face vanished just like that, as if it was a mask he wore that could be removed at any time.

"That won't be necessary," Mikaera replied. Turning to the girl, she said, "You didn't mean to bump into Mr. Satoshi, did you, Ruby? Let him know that you're sorry."

The slave girl shuffled from behind Mikaera and fidgeted where she stood. With her dark eyes struggling to meet Satoshi's, Ruby said, "My humblest of apologies, Mr. Satoshi. It won't happen again."

Satoshi looked as if he was about the strike the girl, but instead he gave her a hard glare before Mikaera gave the child permission to leave. "If she had been my slave, I would have sent her to the post for ruining a guest's suit. Those animals need to be disciplined."

Not able to contain her anger, Mikaera flung the Champaign out of her glass and watched as the drink doused the man. "If you think slaves should be treated as such," Mikaera said through gritted teeth, "then you are the true animal here."

Huffing, Mikaera spun her heel and marched away. She would not put up with such a man. No matter how pleasurable he was, Mikaera would never tolerate a man who would find no problem putting a child on the post.

As she left the ballroom in favor of retiring to her room early, Mikaera noticed her uncle watching her. Undoubtedly he had witnessed the whole event, and there was going to be hell to pay in the morning.

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"Rin, wait up!"

As if he had been slapped, Len flinched at the sound of his voice.

"Len!" Rin, free and careless, laughed as she ran through the forest. "You're such a slow poke!"

"Just give me . . . a minute to breathe." Len, the present Len, watched as his past self, his self from only three weeks ago, doubled over and continued to breathe heavily. Paralyzing terror began to spread all over his body. Apparently, the blond teen had more than one worst memory.

The Rin of the past stopped where she was before approaching her brother. "You okay?" she asked as she placed a hand on the shoulder of past Len.

"Fine," Len heard his memory self answer. "Where do you get all that energy?"

Rin, true to her nature, smiled mischievously. "I'm the athletic one, remember?"

"More like the stubborn one," her brother smiled, earning a slap to the back of his head from his sister. Even the present Len couldn't help but smile at his and Rin's previous interaction. "Besides," past Len continued to say, "I'm the smart one."

"Don't get full of yourself," his sister said. "Now come on!" she began to pull on his hand. "I want to see the queen!"

"Calm down," Len said as he tried to keep the girl from ripping his arm off. "How do you even know the invitation is for us?" he asked. "We could have stole it from whoever was going to have tea under that rose bush."

"Then perhaps they shouldn't have left," Rin said as she placed her hands on her hips. "If the invitation was really that important to them then they should have took it with them."

"Either way," Len said, "that's stealing. I don't think the queen would like to welcome a couple of thieves to her palace."

"I wouldn't steal from a queen," Rin pouted.

"Rin," Len looked disbelieving at his sister.

"Okay!" she threw her hands up. "I wouldn't steal from a queen if someone was watching. Happy?"

"I don't think being happy is a possibility with this situation," he replied. If only he knew what was coming.

"Come on, Len," Rin continued to pout. "I know you're just as curious about meeting the queen as I am." Leaning forward, she whispered, "I hear the queen of Wonderland is the most beautiful creature in all the worlds. All the worlds, Len! Wouldn't you want to meet the most beautiful woman ever?"

"Why would I care if she's beautiful?" Len asked. Present Len chuckled at himself. If only his past self had known. He never would admit it, but Miku as a soul was absolutely stunning. Beyond beautiful, even. He didn't know if it was the result of being a soul or if Miku truly was that breathtaking, but Len could understand why the queen would carry such a label as she wore Miku's true body. The only question about her beauty now was if she has aged well or if her body was still called beautiful for fear of Alice executing whoever dared to say otherwise.

"Boys," Rin rolled her eyes, unknowingly agreeing with her brother's future opinion of his own statement. Grabbing his wrist, Rin pulled Len foreword as she said, "If you don't want to meet queen, then fine. Just at least make sure I make it there all right. You did promise to protect me while we were here, after all."

While past Len smiled, present Len blinked back tears. He failed to keep that promise, and he was about to relive that horrifying moment again. As with the previous memory, he wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it.

Following after the memory twins, Len's dread and anxiety grew as they approached the black, deadly bushes. "'Prison of those who were the embodiments of sin,'" Rin read the sing. "What did they do?" she asked her brother. "Stick all the prisoners in a bush and make them take a time out until they decided to play nice?" Despite himself, present Len laughed at Rin's question.

"I don't think that's what the sign means," the Len of the past said as he looked at the bush. "Perhaps this place really is a prison for the worst of sinners."

"That's silly," Rin responded.

"This is Wonderland," Len reminded. "If we can meet a talking blue caterpillar, then I think a bush that works as a prison isn't impossible." Seeing his sister stick her hands into the bushes and pull steams and leaves out of the way, he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Proving to you that no one's here," she answered as she inspected another area. "There's no way a plant can keep bad people trapped." Present Len felt his heart stop. He knew what was coming, but like watching a train wreck, he couldn't look away, no matter how much he wanted to.

"Rin," past Len warned as he took a step forward. When it felt as if he stepped on something, he looked down and saw what appeared to be a rusty knife. Picking it up, the boy was surprised and terrified to see that what he stepped on was a sword. "Rin," he said again, but this time panic was in his tone.

"You worry too much," she said, unaware of what her brother had found. "There's nothing- Oh shi-!" She didn't get to finish, for what she found had scared her into falling over.

Len, sword still in hand, ran to his sister's side and asked, "What's wrong? What did you find?" The Len who was watching the events unfold almost cried out a warning, telling his past self to get away from the bushes before it was too late. He didn't, though. His past self wouldn't have been able to hear the warning, anyway.

Wordlessly, Rin pointed straight ahead at the bush. Both Lens followed the direction of his sister's finger, and what was found still sent chills down present Len's spine.

Laying outside of the bush was a thin, shriveled, and mummified hand. The hand hung there as still as stone, and the rotting flesh told the siblings that its owner was long dead. The most distinctive feature of the body part was the bright red spade on the back of the hand, seemingly untouched by the deteriorating process.

"Hey, Len," the girl said slowly, "her Mark is kind of like ours." Both of the children looked at there hands. Instinctively, Len looked at his own hand and cursed the ungodly Mark. If only they'd known. "What . . . ," Rin gulped and started again. "What do you think this person did?"

Past Len looked at the sword he had found lying only scarcely a few feet away. It may have been old, but the stains on the blade and hilt of the sword made the boy shiver as if the wielder's sins were playing before his eyes. "I think I have an idea," he replied before throwing the sword back down.

Helping his sister up, Len was ready to leave before anything happened. It was then, however, he felt something wrong as he started blacking in and out. It was with a growing fear that the present Len watched.

"I don't know why," Rin said as she reached out her own hand towards the mummified one, "but I feel sorry for this person." Before she could touch the dead hand, her brother's fingers gently landed on top of the back of her hand. "I guess we should go now, huh?" she asked. When her brother didn't reply, she turned toward him and called, "Len?"

Slowly, Len turned his head to face his sister. Rin and present Len nearly screamed when they saw the white of past Len's eyes replaced with black and his blue irises now a blood red. "Len?" Rin called, fear trickling down every nerve of her body.

Len didn't respond. Instead he wrapped his fingers around her throat and began to strangle her. Present Len wanted to cry out and beg his past self to stop, but he didn't. He was there, but not really. Any attempts to change the past would be futile.

"Len," Rin tried to get through to her brother, "snap out of it. You're not yourself." She tried to pry his fingers off her throat, but he held tightly to his grip. "Len!" she shouted.

Soon the boy's eyes began to flash, alternating between their current look and how they normally look. When his eyes were blue, the girl pleaded, "Come to your senses, Len! You're not yourself!"

"Rin," Len whispered before his eyes flashed back to the unusual appearance. His chock hold tightened as he began to shake the girl.

"Len, please," Rin whispered with the last breath she could manage. With tears in his eyes, the Len witnessing this fell to his knees and forced back his rising sobs. At that moment, as he strangled his one and only sister, he looked like a monster.

So fast that if Len blinked he would have missed it, a ghost shot out from his body and entered Rin's. In that next instant, the ghost fled his body with Rin in its clutches. It was Alice in her true form, stealing Rin's soul from her own body.

"LEEEEENNN!" cried Rin, her unheard shouts breaking Len's heart.

Knowing that she couldn't hear him but not caring, Len, with a multitude of tears streaming down his face, called after his sister.

"RIIIIINNN!"

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"Do you have any idea who you doused your Champaign on last night?!" Mikaera's Uncle Duke barked at her the very next morning, pulling his niece aside before breakfast in order to scold her.

"He said his name is Satoshi," Mikaera replied, doing her best to not tremble under her uncle's cold, steel eyes. It was a difficult. Something about the man made Mikaera want to disappear in on herself and never be seen again.

"Satoshi Dinsmore, heir to the Staleport Plantation!" Uncle Duke yelled. "He took an interest in you, Mikaera. You could have found a potential suitor, and with how many men you have coming to me with marriage proposals, I would have married you to Mr. Dinsmore that very night had he asked."

"But I don't want to get married," Mikaera argued.

"You have no choice!" her uncle spat. "You have no inheritance with your father, and you shall not have any of mine. The money your mother could have left you has been taken by your father, and with how pleasurable your relationship with him is, I don't doubt that the money intended for you has been given to your brother. Your only chance at luxury is to marry well. If you remain an old maid, you will have to stoop as low as a slave in order to make a living."

Taking a shaky breath in attempt to calm her raging anger, Mikaera said, "If I marry, I want it to be for love, be it a rich man or a poor boy. I shall marry whom I chose when I choose it. I wouldn't care if the wait lasts until I'm fifty, as long as I marry somebody I love with all my heart, not someone you approve of."

"You speak foolish words," her uncle said. He set his spectacles down before aiming a sharp glare her way. "Perhaps spending some time living the life you will lead if you wait for marriage will do you some good."

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When the memory faded and he was again enveloped by pitch black darkness, Len began to wipe away his tears. It terrified him more than anything to think of Rin being in any type of pain because of him, and now he relived twice his sister was hurt due to something he did or didn't do. He needed to save her. He needed Rin to know just how much he loved her and that he never intended for any of this to happen.

Standing to shaky feet, Len began to move forward again. He needed to find Miku. He had to know if she was okay. Was she all right? Was she and Rin still alive? If there was one thing that scared him more than Rin getting hurt, it was Miku dying while still inhabiting Rin's body. Losing Rin was bad enough, but losing Miku too would be far worse now that they have come so far.

"Miku," Len continued to call for the soul borrowing his twin sister's body. "Miku."

"Over here, Len," Miku's voice called back.

Filled with immediate joy, Len burst forth in the direction Miku's voice came. "Miku?!" he called. "Keep talking! I'm following your voice."

"I'm over here, Len," Miku kept talking. "You're getting close!"

Len kept sprinting forward, relieved to hear that Miku's voice really was getting closer the further he ran instead of taunting him by always sounding far away as he continued to move forward. It was only after a moment too long did Len wonder why Miku was just only calling him over. Why wasn't she running to meet him halfway? He was certain that under normal circumstances, Miku would be running to him as well.

When she finally came into sight, Len understood what was keeping Miku from running towards him. There she was against the wall, her arms chained above her head. Only Miku wasn't in Rin's body.

With two long turquoise tails and a simple green gown, Miku sat on the ground as a smile of relief spread across her face. "Len," she said, her voice shaky as if she had been crying, "you're here."

"Miku, what happened?" Len wanted to run forward and hug her, but for some reason he couldn't move his feet. "Where's Rin's body? And how did you get like that?"

"Over there," Miku pointed her head in the direction of the voice, "but I'm not too sure myself how I ended up like this. All I know for certain is what has happened to Rin's body." Taking a deep breath, Miku added, "Len, it's not just a body anymore."

Len didn't know what Miku meant, but the moment Len's eyes traveled where Miku directed them, he knew he didn't have to ask. As surprising as it was for Miku to be herself again as she was chained to a wall, nothing could have prepared Len for what came next.

Rin's body was also chained against the wall, but, as Miku said, it wasn't just her body. Looking up, Rin's blue eyes met Len's before a smile of relief made up her demeanor. "Len, is that you? Oh thank God! I'm so happy to see you again."

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As punishment for throwing her Champaign on Satoshi Dinsmore, her uncle had Mikaera spend the next few days cleaning up the manor alongside the slaves she so viciously protected whenever someone spoke harshly of them. Truthfully, Mikaera did not mind it. She had never liked being a lady, and the work gave her much to do. It kept her busy, and Mikaera soon discovered that she liked to be busy.

"Lady Mikaera," Ruby, the slave girl Mikaera defended the other night, called to her dusting companion, "I left the bucket in Mistress Naomi's room. Could you please get it for me? I'd get it myself, but I don't think she'd be happy if I went into her room during her reading hour, but you she might spare."

"I don't mind it at all," Mikaera replied as she set the feathered duster aside and wiped her hands on her white with dust stains apron. The green dress she wore as she cleaned ended halfway through her shins, and her hair tied back by a gray bandana.

She traveled up the stairs and down the hall to her aunt's room. Her hand stopped in mid air, about to knock, when Mikaera heard voices from behind the thick doors. Instead of making her presence known as she should have done, Mikaera instead placed her ear against the door and listened in.

". . . can't do anything right," the voice of her uncle said. "That niece of yours does nothing but cause problems."

"She is only a child," the aunt defended.

"Sixteen is no child!" the uncle snapped. "It is time for Mikaera to grow up."

"Mikaera isn't ready to grow up yet," Aunt Naomi argued, "and she most certainly isn't ready for marriage."

"She has to marry if she can hope to have a future," Uncle Duke pointed out.

Aunt Naomi sighed. "I shall write to her father this afternoon. Perhaps if Mikaera lives with him and puts in an effort to mend their relationship-"

She didn't get to finish. Mikaera burst through the door and exclaimed in disbelief, "You're sending me away?!"

"Mikaera?!" her aunt gasped, but the teen gave her no opportunity to explain.

"You're sending me back to my father? Why? I thought you cared about me!"

"I do, Mikaera, I truly do," Aunt Naomi insisted. "However, your behavior as of late has not been what it should be."

"I'll be good, I promise!" Mikaera cried. "I will court whomever uncle wants me to. Just don't send me back to father!"

"You need to mend your broken relationship," Aunt Naomi insisted. Mikaera's uncle all the while remained silent. "Perhaps if you spend the summer with your father's family-"

"No!" Mikaera interrupted. "I don't care if you're sending me away. I'm not going! I am not going back to father. You know how much I hate him!"

"Mikaera," Aunt Naomi began as she approached her trembling niece.

"Don't touch me!" Mikaera snarled. "Stay away from me. I thought you loved me, but you're just like Father. All he ever did was send me away so he didn't have to put up with me, and now you're doing the same thing. I can't believe you're doing this to me. I hate you!"

With that said, Mikaera broke into a run and sprinted down the halls. She could hear her uncle telling her aunt "to not worry about the girl's temper tantrum and to let her cry it off. She will be back soon."

_I will not be back_ Mikaera immediately decided. _I ran away from Father, and I can certainly run away from you, too._ However, she only ran so far, a mile or two into the woods, before the crushing realization pulled her to a halt. _But I have nowhere else to go. . . ._

Mikaera fell to her knees, placed her face in her hands, and began to sob. Her shoulders trembling, and her cries echoed in the forest. "What am I to do now?" she asked nobody in particular. Then she noticed it.

A little white rabbit, with tiny blood red eyes and cotton fur, beckoning the girl forward. Against her better judgement, Mikaera chased after the rabbit. She followed the white rabbit through the darkening woods and all the way to its rabbit hole. Her curiosity consuming her, Mikaera Langston leaned closer to pear in, but she leaned so much that she fell into the hole in the earth. Nobody was there to hear her piercing, horror-filled screams.


	8. Chapter 8

Regaining consciousness was a slow process. Awareness came first with Mikaera's waking, but for the longest time afterward, her thoughts and feelings were too muddy to decipher. She couldn't form a single coherent thought, and she herself didn't know if she was relieved to be alive, scared of her mysterious situation, or sad that her aunt really was going to give up on her just as everyone else in Mikaera's life ever had. Next came an aching pain, both over her body, possibly from the impact of the fall, and her heart for being abandoned yet again.

Then the feeling of fingers feathering over her forehead.

The touch was enough to jolt Mikaera back into reality. At once all of her senses returned to her, and her heavy eyelids flew open. Hovering over her stood a woman with bright red hair and cherry eyes. Based on the setting, Mikaera was in an old, wooden room with a single square window letting in the morning light.

Seeing Mikaera's wide emerald eyes, the woman smiled and said, "Don't worry, Honey. You're safe here."

It took her longer than necessary to recall how to form words, but Mikaera found herself asking, "What happened?"

"My daughter and her friends found you lying in the woods, unconscious," the woman answered. "My husband and I brought you here, and you've been asleep for two days." Mikaera moaned as she tried to sit up, and the woman helped Mikaera by gently pushing her upright and propping more pillows behind her back. "Any idea what you were doing in the forest all by your lonesome self?" the woman then asked.

"I was in the woods," Mikaera slowly answered, "and there was a little white rabbit. I followed it through the forest, and then it disappeared inside a hole. I should have left at that, but instead I got on my knees and peered inside. Then . . . I fell in. That's all I remember."

The woman spent a moment considering what Mikaera said before replying, "Rabbit holes never mean anything good. You shouldn't be here, not in our world."

If the words "our world" registered inside Mikaera's head, she thought nothing of them. "But I have nowhere else to go," she mumbled as she shifted her eyes to her hands as they balled the fabric of the blanket on her lap.

"You must have family who is worried sick over you," the woman said kindly, her voice pulling Mikaera's gaze back to her.

"They don't care about me," Mikaera whispered. "All each and every one of my so-called family has ever done is try to get rid of me."

The woman was opening opening her mouth when a small girl bounced into the room, preventing the woman from speaking what she was about to say.

"Mama, Papa wants to know if-" She stopped right there when her eyes landed on Mikaera. "You woke up!" she exclaimed as she ran to stand in front of the bed. "You were just lying on the ground, and you weren't moving so my friends and I got super scared. Defoko wanted to get help, but Ritsu thought we should have left you. I had them both run back to the village to get help while I stayed to watch over you." Smiling at the end, the girl added, "I'm so glad you're awake now."

"Thanks," Mikaera said after a moment of silence. "I appreciate what you've done for me, but I should be going." Before Mikaera could get out of the bed, the girl stopped her with the melancholy look in her eyes.

"Do you have somewhere you need to be?" the girl asked, the corners of her lips turned downwards as her brows furrowed.

"No," Mikaera wanted to answer. "I have to go because I'm not wanted here." However, before she could actually speak the words, the girl's mother spoke again.

"You can't go anywhere in your condition. You have to stay here until you feel better." With a sweet smile, the woman added, "You can leave whenever you like."

Realizing the open invitation, Mikaera sighed in surprise relief as she said, "I suppose I can stay for a little while."

"Great!" the girl exclaimed as she jumped on the bed, earning a warning from her mother. A warning that went ignored. "My name's Teto. What's yours?"

"Mi-" Mikaera began but stopped herself. It was silly, she knew, but she didn't want to be Mikaera anymore. She didn't want to be associated as a lady from a rich plantation. What Mikaera wanted was to for the first time to live her life the way she chose. Nobody here knew her, and nothing was stopping her from taking a fresh start.

Before either the woman or her daughter asked why Mikaera cut herself off like that, Mikaera smiled and said, "Miku. My name's Miku."

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What Len saw before him made absolutely no sense. _How is Rin here? And how did Miku get her own body back? What in Wonderland is going on?_

"What's happening here?" he asked slowly. Both girls opened their mouths to answer, but they were cut off as a giant snake slithered in front of them.

"Len Kagamine," the creature said as if addressing an old friend, "so you come at last?" The snake was black as coal with a small number of gold glittering scales. It's eyes were a piercing yellow, and its upper body spread out almost like a cobra's. The creature let out a sharp hiss as it flicked out its tongue, tasking the cold, murky air.

_Why did it have to be a giant snake?_ Taking a deep breath, Len asked, "What are you doing with Rin and Miku? Let them go."

"Your little friends trespassed into my home," the snake hissed, surprising Len by not dragging on the _s_ sound. "Am I not free to execute punishment as I see fit?"

"Don't hurt them," Len all but begged. "Do whatever you want with me, but let the girls go."

"Len," Rin whimpered as Miku said, "Get out of here and save yourself. I can handle this."

"I'm not leaving," Len said as he looked Miku into her emerald eyes. To Rin, "I promise, Rin, this time I will protect you."

"Don't be stupid," Rin replied. "Get out while you still can."

"I'm not leaving," Len repeated as he curled his fingers into tight fists.

"I like the sound of _thisssss_," the snake hissed, now dragging on the _s_ more for show than anything. Slithering up to Len so that its body was curling around his legs, the snake said, "I am in a rather good mood today, so I will let you go."

"You will?" Len felt the relief at the snake's words crash like a tidal wave. "Thank you."

"Don't be thanking me just yet," the snake replied as it slithered away from Len in favor of lying between the girls. "You may leave, but only one can go with you. As for the other . . . Well, don't worry about her. My venom kills quickly and almost painlessly."

"No," Len felt the blood drain from his face. "I take the both of them. Rin and Miku are coming with me."

"Foolish boy," the snake shook its head. "You can choose one and only one."

Len looked between both Rin and Miku. They were chained to the cave walls as if they were animals, and the way they cowered in on themselves was physical proof of just how scared they were. Rin, Len's twin sister and the one person he loved most in the world. All he wanted was to get her back, but not at this price. Miku, a friendly ghost who was willing to help him as long as he helped her, had done nothing but show him where to go and be there for him when he needed it, even if she owed him nothing. There was no way he could leave her either.

Both girls looked at Len with fear in their eyes, but Miku was the first to recover. With a nod of her head, Miku said, "I understand what you need to do." Rin, too scared to process what Miku said, only trembled where she sat.

As much as he didn't want to make a choice like this, Len knew what needed to be done.

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The days turned into weeks. Mikaera, now known as Miku, was unofficially adopted into the Kasane family. The girl, Teto, became Miku's little sister and best friend, and Teto's parents became the first people Mikaera ever met who seemed to want her. The abandonment she had been so used to feeling up until that point was gone, and it felt for the first time that she actually had a family.

As a member of her new family, Mr. and Mrs. Kasane made it clear to Miku that she was expected to do chores around the house and help carry her weight. Miku was only too happy to comply. The life of a normal girl was everything Mikaera ever dreamed it would be, and now, as Miku, she had her previous dream become her day to day reality. She never grew bored of it.

Best of all was when Mr. Kasane offered to teach Miku how to use a sword. He bought Miku her own blades and taught her every other day. Miku practiced diligently, and it was only a matter of days before she became quite skilled. The constant motion of the body, the pumping of blood, the rush if adrenaline - Miku savored all of it.

Going outside the village for chores also excited Miku, even if the Kasane family was nervous at the thought of sending her and Teto out. Only a year before their son and Teto's older brother Ted went into the Boro Grove and never returned. The fear of losing someone like that never lightened, making Teto incredibly fearful at the thought of getting separated from her new big sister.

"Careful not to get lost, Miku," Teto said as she tightened her grip around the woven basket in her hands. "The trees in this forest like to play games, so if you're not careful you might end up wondering around her with no place to go for days."

"Exciting," Miku replied under her breath as she adjusted one of her two ponytails. Before she wasn't allowed to wear her hair in such a childish way, but now that she was part of the Kasane family, she could style her hair anyway she wanted to. Teto soon took after the twin tail style, wanting to be like her adopted older sister. "What if the trees decide to play with us and keep us from finding the berries Mama Kasane wants us to get?" she then asked.

"It's happened before," Teto answered. "All we can do is go in and hope for the best."

The two girls entered the forest and began searching for the bitterblue berries of the Playful Woods. Teto had insisted that they would know they were close when they found groups of rockinghorse flies resting on the branches near the ground, but Miku was sure she heard Mrs. Kasane mention something about butterloafflies.

The sun passed overhead as both girls continued their search, but they were so focused on finding their own particular insect that neither was aware of the paths shifting and diverting until both had gone of course and separated from each other.

"Teto?" Miku asked the moment she realized that the red head was nowhere in sight. "Teto, where are you? This isn't funny. Stop hiding now or I'm telling Mama Kasane!"

"I'm afraid your threat is going to get you nowhere," an unfamiliar voice said.

Chills crawled up Miku's spine. Her shoulders knotted up, and her arms lay tensed by her sides. "Who's there?" Miku asked, sounding braver than she felt.

"Only a mere passerby who found a lost girl in the woods," the voice answered.

Miku cast her gaze over her right shoulder in attempt to see who was speaking to her. Finding no one, she shifted her eyes back in front of her only to be met by large, gleaming cat eyes.

"Why, hello," lips with no face greeted as Miku's face went chalk white.

"GAAHHH!" Miku screamed. She tried to run away, but she only succeeded in crossing her ankles in attempt to spin around and falling face first to the ground.

"I'm not that terrifying, am I?" the voice asked, and when Miku looked again in that direction, a giant cat was floated a few feet above her.

"Who are you?" Miku asked over her trembling lips. She wanted to move, but she was too stunned to get up from being sprawled out on the dirt.

"Who am I?" the giant cat grinned. With a flick of his tail the cat vanished, and when he reappeared he was mere inches from Miku's face. "I go by many name," he began his answer, all of his pointy white teeth showing. "The Grinning Cat, The Smile Without A Face, That Damned Cat, Cheshire-"

"Okay, I get it," Miku interrupted. "Cheshire."

Flipping so that he was levitating upside down, Cheshire asked, "And what's your name, Girl From Above?"

"Wait, how do you know I'm not from around here?" Miku furrowed her brows as she pushed herself into a sitting position.

"I will be the one asking the questions," Cheshire replied as he flipped back upside up. "What's your name?"

"Miku Hatsune," Miku answered slowly.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Cheshire levitate in circles around the girl as she remain sitting in the dirt. "You are such a liar, Mikaera Langston."

Sucking in a sharp breath, Miku felt the blood drain from her face. "How do you know my name?" she whispered in creeping horror.

"Did I not just say that will be the one asking the questions?" Cheshire sternly repeated. "How did you get here?"

"Mama Kasane sent me to pick-" Miku began but was cut off.

"No, _here_," Cheshire emphasized. "In Wonderland. You are most certainly not a Wonderland denizen, or at least not by birth, so how did a girl from the land above find herself here?"

"I . . . I was crying in the woods, and then I saw a white rabbit watching me," Miku said as she pulled her knees to her chest. Dirt clung to her bare arms, legs, and neck. "I couldn't help but be curious what such a creature was doing so close to home, so I followed it. I followed it . . . to a rather large rabbit hole, and when I peered inside, I fell in. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in the Kasane home as the mother tries to nurse me back to health. Everything between that, I don't know for sure."

For quite good, solid moment Cheshire seemed to be considering everything Miku had said, or at least she believed that's what he was doing. It was hard to look at the cat's face and tell what he was thinking, but at least when he opened his mouth he didn't attempt to disguise his thoughts.

"You shouldn't be here," was how the cat choose to begin. "I have heard this story before, and each time it does not have a happy ending. You need to leave Wonderland as soon as possible."

"But I can't just leave," Miku shook her head. "I have a friends here. I finally have a family who wants me. I can't and I won't leave. There's nothing up there for me."

Cheshire floated in front of Miku, and he was so close to her face that their noses nearly touched. "No matter what you do to avoid her, you will never escape. I would know. Hatter, a dear old friend of mine, has been running from Alice since the day he saw a Joker on the back of his hand. He had to go mad in order to save himself from being taken, but insanity is only blissful when you're ignorant. Sadly, my friend is not so ignorant. If you don't leave soon, Alice will get you."

"Alice?" Miku questioned. "Who's Alice? And who's the Hatter"

"Alice is someone who never forgave Jefferson for finding a way to not become her first victim," Cheshire replied as he shook his head, distancing himself from Miku. "All the man wanted to do was return to Grace, his daughter whom he left behind when he was brought here. By the time a way from him to leave Wonderland was found, it was too late. Now with nothing to return to, the Mad Hatter has spent the past two centuries living in a rickety old cottage.

Miku rose an eyebrow. "Two centuries?"

"Funny how the crazier they are the more likely they will be to outlive us all," Cheshire chuckled as he again circled Miku. "Only this is no laughing matter. You were brought here for a reason, but not for any reason you would find honoring. You have to leave Wonderland. Your life depends on it."

"But my life is non existent up there," Miku argued. "Everything I have is here, and I can't leave it as if it never meant anything to me."

Sighing, Cheshire asked, "I'm not going to be able to talk you into extending your own life, am I?"

"No," was all Miku answered.

"Then you have to make a deal with me," Cheshire said quietly, as if he was afraid of being overheard. "If you ever see any strange mark, any at all, come on to me. As long as you don't notice anything strange, you will be fine; but the moment you find a mark on the back of your hand, find me immediately. Alice can see you if you bear her Mark. Promise me you will do this."

Miku wanted to call the cat crazy, but there was no way she could honestly claim that he didn't appear serious. Whatever had this cat so frightened, it was very real. "I promise," Miku replied.

"Good," Cheshire said, appearing as relieved as a cat could ever look. "Until we meet again, Emerald Eyes."

"Wait!" Miku shouted, hoping to catch the cat before he disappeared. When she saw Cheshire waiting for her, Miku asked, "How do you know my real name, and that I'm not who I say I am?"

With his signature grin on his face, Cheshire answered, "The trees." Before Miku could question the comment, Cheshire added, "The trees may be blind, but they're not deaf. They know everything, and if you listen hard enough, you can hear them telling others' secrets. Just be careful of them. You never know whose side they're on."

"The . . . trees," Miki whispered. Cheshire nodded before disappearing in a cloud of gray smoke.

"Till we meet again, Miku."

Staring at where Cheshire had previously been, Miku was unaware of Teto calling out to her as the girl tried to gain her adopted sister's attention.

"Miku!" Teto cried as she shook Miku's frame, her body still sitting in the dirt. "I spent forever looking for you. Don't tell me I found you too late. Miku!"

As quick as the snapping of fingers, whatever spell was holding Miku broke. She looked into Teto's worried cheery eyes and said, "I'm sorry. I guess I'm not as cut out for berry picking as I thought I was."

Teto broke down and threw herself into Miku's body. "Don't leave me again," the girl sobbed. "Promise me you won't leave me again."

Miku knew she shouldn't have, but she couldn't resist speaking those two words. "I promise."

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He knew what had to be done, so why was Len filled with so much regret? He hadn't even known Miku for two weeks, yet he couldn't mask the crushing sorrow he felt as he stared at her still figure. It was her or Rin, and even though Len knew he made the right decision, he still couldn't shake the guilt. He should have done something. He could have tried to outwit the snake, but he didn't. Miku was dead, and it was all his fault.

"Len," Rin's voice said carefully, as if she was afraid of startling the boy. "Len, we need to go."

"I can't just leave her," Len whispered. He was sitting on his knees, Miku's head just inches from his lap. Her empty emerald eyes stared at him, as if even in death Miku was questioning Len for doing this to her. "The only reason I made it this far was because of Miku, and this is how I repay her? The least I can do is not leave her body to rot in the dark, in an unmarked grave nobody would ever visit."

"We can't take it with us," Rin shook her head. "The body, I mean. We have enough trouble as it is trying to find our way out of here, and adding dead weight to the mix-"

"Miku is not dead weight!" Len snapped. "I have you back because of her, and this is how you want to pay your respects?"

"I never even knew her!" Rin argued, throwing her hands up dramatically as she always did no matter how serious the conversation. "How am I supposed to care for someone I've never met? She can rot to pieces her for all I care."

Len looked disbelieving at his sister. "How can you say that?" he whispered.

"Do I need to repeat it for you?" Rin growled. "I just spent two weeks, scared to death, trapped in a pitch black void. Why? Because you couldn't even protect me like you promised you would! It's the same thing every time. I have to be the one to protect you since you're far too wimpy to take care of yourself - and you never thank me for it, might I add - and when you say you're going to protect me, I get my soul stolen. To make matters worse, you let this body stealer use my body! How do you think that makes me feel?"

Unable to believe what he was hearing, Len said through gritted teeth, "Do you think any of this was easier for me? I hated having to let your body be used by someone we didn't know. I hated looking at you but it wasn't really you. I hated every aspect of it, but I had to let Miku use your body to save your life. Miku kept you alive so that you can be standing before me again, and now you respond by saying bad things about her?"

"Geez!" Rin again threw her hands up. "With the way you talk about this Miku person, you should have chosen her over me."

"Do not say that," Len replied, the words tasting bitter in his mouth. He looked at his palms before rotating his wrists so that he was staring at the back of his hands. What he saw there startled him.

"Oh, I will say it," Rin scoffed. "Miku, this girl you seemingly care so much for, is dead because of you. Admit it, Len, you let an innocent person who has done nothing but help you die for your own selfish desire. You truly are the monster you fear yourself to be, and I hate you for it." When Len failed to reply, Rin added, "What? Have nothing to say to justify yourself?"

Slowly casting his gaze in her direction, Len stared at Rin's tightly clutched fists for a moment. Finally, he said, "I have to give it to you, for up until now you had me thoroughly convinced. Except, you missed one tiny detail, one I had completely forgotten about until now." Locking eyes with the girl before him, Len asked, "Rin, where's your Mark?"

The blonde chocked on a gasp before examining the back of her hands. Seeing that the yellow half heart Mark was missing from her right hand, the girl swore loudly.

"Can't say I'm not impressed, though," Len continued as he inspected the one before him. "You did an amazing job of imitating Rin's appearance. Why, you even got the freckle on her chin just right. Most people don't even see it because it's so close to the left corner of her lip, but you pulled it off perfectly."

"I wouldn't be so cocky," the girl - if she even was a girl - growled. "Your real sister is still somewhere out there, in real danger."

"I know," Len replied. He was slow to stand to his feet, but as he rose it didn't attempt to hide the boulder in his hands.

"What do you plan on doing?" the imposter asked.

"You're going to tell me where Miku is," Len answered. "The real Miku. My Miku."

"And why should I help you?" the girl dressed as Rin challenged.

In a matter of seconds, Len turned around and began pounding the boulder into what appeared to be Miku's face. At first it seemed as if the boy was beating in the face of a young girl, but the more he slammed the first sized rock into the face, the more the illusion wore off until finally nothing remained. The entire time the shocked imposter watched in horror.

Turning back around, Len said, "You are nothing more than an illusion created by the Jabberwocky's power whose purpose is to scare me into madness. Your only power source comes from my fear, and without that fear, you will die." Len took a heavy step forward and rose the boulder to the girl's eye level. "Admit it, the only reason you can't hurt me to defend yourself is because I'm not giving you any fear to feed off of, and the moment I slam this rock into your head, fighting the horrifying image of caving my own sister's face in while doing so, you will disappear just like that illusion of Miku. I may be no expert on your kind, but I know self-preservation runs in every fiber of your body." When she failed to respond, Len mocked, "What? Have nothing to say to defend yourself?"

"You're a monster," the girl spat. "You're greatest fear is becoming a monster, yet you allow yourself to be one nonetheless."

"Though becoming someone who cares nothing of others and harms innocents is one of my biggest fears," Len began, "it's not my worst. No, my worst fear is losing the people I love, and if it's so I can find Miku and save Rin, I will gladly become the monster I fear I may be." At the illusion's hesitation to respond, Len reached out, grabbed a fistful of the fabric of her white shirt, and yanked her forward so that they were so close their noses were touching. "Either tell me where Miku is or have a huge rock beaten into your skull," Len threatened. "Your choice."


	9. Chapter 9

Rin sat in her glass prison, letting the memories become hers. At first she was confused when she began seeing the life of a girl named Mikaera Langston, but after witnessing Mikaera fall down a rabbit hole and begin living in a small village under the name Miku Hatsune, Rin knew. This was another one of Alice's victims, but unlike Meiko and Kaito, Miku escaped. Rin knew this because it was the memories of Meiko and Kaito telling her about this girl's past, not Miku herself. Miku spent time trapped in the same cell Rin now resided in, so her memories became part of the glass just as Meiko's and Kaito's memories did, even if not as personal.

_I wonder if the next person to be trapped in here will have my memories become theirs, too_ Rin thought with a sigh. At first she had tried to keep track of the days based on how often night fell, but she lost count after a while. She couldn't mark the days, and she didn't trust herself to remember how often she had slept. Rin could have been there three weeks or three months and she wouldn't know the difference.

At least for now the story of Miku Hatsune did a decent job keeping her entertained.

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The sounds of fiddles, tambourines, and harmonicas filled the fresh evening air. It was time for the summer fair, and almost everyone from the nearby villages spent their days at the traveling carnival. Similar to the fairs Miku had always heard about, there were games, shows, and a ferris wheel. Except Wonderland didn't stop there.

There were magic shows - with real magic, triangle dancing competitions for anyone who wanted to jump in, talking frogs, jousting tournaments, and a family of acrobats - all rabbits. Miku couldn't believe her eyes when she noticed how the rabbits, standing on two legs and dressed like people, communicated with the humans around them as if they were human themselves. Though she was disappointed to discover no other creatures as mysterious as Cheshire, a thought she didn't dare voice for she had kept the meeting a secret from everyone.

Even now, months later, she still thought about the cat and what he had told her. He said it was too dangerous for Miku to be in Wonderland, but nothing struck her as threatening. Should she really be scared of this Alice, whom she never heard of outside of the strange cat?

"C'mon, Miku!" Teto exclaimed, pulling Miku out of her thoughts. The red head tugged on Miku's wrist, dragging her forward as the young teen tried to run to a particular exhibit. "The magic show starts soon, and I want to get a good seat before it's too late!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Miku said as she jogged to keep up with Teto so the small girl wouldn't pull Miku's arm off.

They ran from halfway across the grounds to a short and wide stripped black and white tent. The folds were pulled aside to welcome anyone who desired to watch the upcoming performance. Miku's heart raced with excitement as she and Teto neared the musician's tent. Never once had she seen a magic show, and now that she knew the magic she would see was definitely real, Miku felt her heartbeat quicken with anticipation.

"Here, here!" Teto cheered as she found a pair of seats in the front row. She ran in, plopped onto the chair, and pulled Miku into the seat next to her faster than Miku could say "wonder." The teen had practically suffered whiplash from how quickly her adopted sister pulled her down.

It wasn't long after that the tent began to fill. Miku was aware that as real as magic was in Wonderland, it was still a thing of curiosity. Most inhabitants possessed little to no magical abilities, but still a good deal of the denizens were capable of a few neat tricks. Mr. Kasane could teleport small objects so that they appear in his fingers, their neighbor Piko could change the color of his hair and eyes at will, and Rook could talk to animals. Miku had never felt so insignificant before in her life, but it also meant that for once nobody thought highly of her. She really liked that.

It wasn't long after the tent had filled that the flaps were closed to block the outside light. Then, so sudden it made Miku jump, a light coming from seemingly nowhere illuminated the center of the tent. Standing where previously nothing had been was a young man, more of a boy with how young Miku thought he looked, with shaggy pink hair and a white suit. His bowtie was midnight blue with cream circles spotting the fabric, and his top hat was the shade of gray that was best described as the color of a rain cloud on an otherwise sunny day. His eyes were a soft baby blue, and he carried himself with a practiced ease. When he smiled, there was a noticeable twinkle to his pearly whites.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, human and beast," he began, "I welcome thee to my tent of wonders. Every one of us is gifted with some magic, but only few of us are born to be magicians. I," he flicked his wrist, and a light purple bird that reminded Miku of a dove flew from his hand, "was born to entertain," the magician finished with a charming grin.

The bird flew back to the magician. He removed his top hat and let the bird fly inside. "Now," he said as he placed his hat upside up on the floor, "I think it's time I brought in my lovely assistant." With that he quickly pulled the hat off the ground, and standing as if she had just emerged from the hat was a girl who appeared to be in her late teens. She had chest length lavender hair tied into two low tails, and it was with unbelievable grace she curtsied so far down that her forehead touched her knee.

"Good afternoon, spectators," she said in a soft, sweet, and girlish voice. "My name is Yukari, and I am here to be of help to his great magician, Luki the Mystical."

_Luki_ Miku thought, but her eyes remain trained on the girl still low to the ground. Her dress was a hot pink, yet it was styled as if for an innocent child. The skirt poofed out around the knees, the sleeves were large and round, and a thick white ribbon wrapped around her slim waist. She was wearing thigh high white socks, and black shoes with one inch heels were snuggly fitting to her tiny feet. The girl's most interesting feature, Miku noted, was the long feathers protruding as wings on the assistant's arms. Unless Miku was mistaken, the magician just turned his lavender dove into a teenage assistant.

"Let's begin, shall we?" Luki smiled, drawing the attention back to himself.

Miku watched the show in wonder, her eyes growing larger and wider with each passing act. There were many fascinating tricks, such as Luki hiding Yukari behind his coat and then throwing it away to expose her absence, only for the purplette to appear at the entrance to the tent. Luki turned Yukari back into a dove, then a rabbit, next a squirrel, also a snake, and back again into a human before their very eyes. He took off his jacket to reveal a sleeveless vest underneath before pulling items that belonged to members of the audience out of thin air, surprising each of the item's owner. Miku's favorite act was when Luki pulled out a painting of a pink rose and, after having the entire audience deem the painting real, picked the flower right of the paper. While the crowd was applauding the trick, he stepped close to Miku, smiled, and handed her the rose. "For you," he whispered in a charming way.

Looking at the girl next to her with wide, mischievous eyes, Teto snickered to Miku, "I think he likes you."

"I think he gives all the pretty girls flowers made from paint," Miku retorted, but she couldn't hide the joy from her face. There were times Miku was glad to be in Wonderland, and there were times when she was really glad to be in Wonderland. Now was one of those really glad times.

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Pain was the first then Miku felt when she began to come to. The head that wasn't hers throbbed in pain, and the limbs she borrowed felt as if they were made of lead. _Where's Len?_ was the first thing Miku wondered when she was capable of forming a coherent thought.

Despite the lingering ache in Rin's body, Miku pulled the arms close so that the palms were next to the chest. Miku pushed herself upwards into a sitting position, her temporary knees digging into the dirt. She looked around despite the cave being too dark to see what was in front of oneself, yet the girl continued to search for her missing companion.

"Len. . . ," Miku said his name, an ache forming in her heart. She placed her hands over her chest and stared down at her lap, tears trickling down from her green eyes. _Maybe it's a good thing Len's not here_ Miku thought. _Whatever my biggest fear is, Len doesn't need to see it._ Wiping her teary eyes, Miku stood to her feet and began to cautiously walk forward.

She had only been walking for a few short moments before familiar blond hair caught her attention. "Len!" Miku cried as she ran forward. Said boy turned around and met her in the eyes. "I'm so glad I found you," Miku continued as she sprinted his way. "I was starting to get worried about you, but I'm glad that you're-"

Whatever she was about to say was cut off when Miku ran face first into an invisible wall. She staggered backwards a few steps before regaining her balance. "Uh?" she wondered before pounding her fist on the transparent film. "Len," Miku called, hoping that Len might have an idea of what they could do to break the window, but when she again looked at his face, Miku was stunned to see Len sneering at her. "Len?" Miku questioned, her heart sinking.

Len, her friend and practical brother, was looking at her as if she were the most disgusting thing he had ever witnessed. He spat in her direction before turning back around. "Len?" Miku called again, but the blond ignored her. "Len?" Miku tried again, and again, and again. "Len? Len? LEN?!"

Miku pounded on the wall that separated them, but Len showed no interest in again looking her way. She knocked and cried and pleaded for Len to just simply acknowledge her, but the boy didn't budge. Sliding to her knees, Miku cried and begged, but her sobs went unheard. "Len, p-please t-ta-alk to m-m-me!" Miku hiccuped. "Pl-please, Len!"

The years passed slowly and painfully. Regardless of how hard Miku fought against the wall and how loud she cried for Len to hear her, nothing happened. No matter what Miku did, she couldn't reach Len. He was right there in front of her, yet he was so far away. He was close enough for Miku to trail her fingers along his cloak, but he was way out of her reach. "Len, please," Miku whispered with her voice, now hoarse from years of calling out to the one who refused to hear her. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. Please, Len, just look at me. I don't care if you look at me with hate, just show me that you can still look at me nonetheless."

For a moment it looked as if Len, who now appeared to be seventeen, was going to turn around and finally look at her, but he paused halfway before shifting his gaze away again. It would have hurt Miku less had he looked at her with loathing and disgust.

Years continued to come and go. Miku and Len both grew up. Len became a fine looking young man with broad shoulders and an angular face, and Miku, forever trapped in Rin's body, stayed petite through her developing stage and grew her blonde hair long and thick. The years made Miku cry louder, but they also made Len grow harder.

"Len, talk to me," Miku whispered through her tears. "Why won't you talk to me? Please, I miss you. Don't you miss me, too?"

Still Len didn't acknowledge her.

Seasons came and went. Len and Miku both grew older and older. Soon both were graying, but still Miku couldn't get through to Len. "It's been seventy years," Miku whispered, her voice cracking with age. "It's been so long, yet you still won't talk to me, Len? Why won't you even look at me? Please, Len, I can't take this hatred anymore."

Finally, Len heard her words. He turned around for the first time in decades and met Miku in the eyes. His gaze was hard at first, but soon his expression softened. Then he held out his hand, as if inviting Miku to accept his forgiveness after treating her harshly for so long.

"Len," Miku said in relief as she stood and moved towards Len. She outstretched her hand to meet his, but as she stumbled over a rock and fell forward, Miku discovered with absolute horror that she passed through Len. She snapped her head around quickly just in time to see the well aged Len turn to dust before her very eyes.

Falling to her knees before the pile, tears again began to swell from Miku's eyes. "Len," she whispered his name. She was finally able to reach him, but it was already too late. "LEN!" she cried as she fell to her face and began to sob with no control.

"Len," she whispered as she curled into a ball and mourned his death. Her wrinkled hands balled into tight fist, and her old joints popped with the position she lied in. "Why couldn't I reach you until it was too late?" she asked the dust before her. "Why, Len? Why?"

Miku closed her eyes and never ceased her sobbing. She spent many years trying to get to Len, and now that she had it was too late. He was gone forever. There were no do-overs. There was no getting Len back. All that was left for the old woman was to keep weeping until her own death finally came to claim her too.

Sobs were still escaping from her lips when she felt a soft touch run through her hair. Then she felt it again. Then again. Miku opened her eyes and was surprised to see that her hands were no longer wrinkled but that of a young girl. She went from eighty back to fourteen in seconds.

Miku should have known what happened, but instead she was horribly confused. _The years that had passed felt so real. How could they suddenly vanish like that?_

"It's okay, Miku. I'm here," a familiar voice comforted.

Looking in the direction of the voice revealed to Miku that Len was the one stroking her hair. He smiled at her when their eyes met and said in a soft voice, "It's all right. Nothing is going to hurt you. I promise we won't be separated again."

At the sight of him, Miku blinked back tears and whispered, "You're real?"

"I'm real," Len confirmed.

Slowly, Miku brought her hand up and touched Len's. Their fingers interlaced, and she held fastly to the boy for fear of his disappearing from her sight forever. She squeezed his fingers, and Len gently squeezed back. "You are real," Miku breathed.

"I am real," Len repeated.

"And you're alive," Miku choked.

"I'm alive," Len reassured her as he simultaneously wondered what Miku might have seen. If she was surprised to see him alive, Len knew that one of her greatest fears involved his death.

It made him feel even guiltier for allowing her to die in his own hallucination.

With nothing else to say, Miku fell forward so that her face buried onto Len's chest before a stream of tears burst from her eyes. Her shoulders shook, and her small frame trembled. She wrapped her thin arms around Len's waist and dug her face further into his chest. The rhythm of Len's steady heartbeat was the only thing keeping Miku sane in that moment.

"Okay, what a sweet, heartwarming reunion, but can we please go now?" a sharp, irritated voice asked, jolting Miku to pull away from Len and stare in the direction of which the speaker came.

"You . . . ," Miku said quietly as she saw a girl who, like herself, wore Rin's face. "Who are you? No, _what_ are you?" Miku asked.

The Rin look-alike sneered instead of answering.

"She is the only survivor of my hallucination," Len answered for her. "I had her lead me to you, and now that we're reunited again, I'm having her personally escort us to the Jabberwocky."

"Clever," Miku nodded. "Reckless and life threatening, but clever."

"Though 'having' me lead the way is quit generous wording of him," the girl spat. "That boy is threatening to cave my skull in if I fail to cooperate."

Miku looked from the girl to Len to back to the girl. Returning her gaze to an ashamed Len, a giant rock she didn't know he was holding in hand, Miku said, "Well, you have to do what you have to do." Len smiled in relief, glad that Miku understood that he was only doing whatever it took for them to achieve their mission. After his hallucination, Len feared to think that Miku would look at him as if he was a monster after all.

Eyes trained back on their new companion, Miku asked, "Why are you agreeing to this so willingly? If you have the power to create an illusion of someone's worst fears, then certainly you can defend yourself better."

"Nice to see how much faith you have in me," Len mumbled but was left unheard.

"My power is as limited as my master permits," she answered, "and since this boy has been able to overcome my latest masterpiece, my master's strength has stopped flowing to me. However," dropping to her knees, the girl gripped Miku's face between her fingers and said, "I do have enough power to make some adjustments."

Before either Miku or Len could react, the girl was again standing a distance away from the two. Then her appearance began to alter. The roundness of Rin's cheeks and how wide her eyes were began to fade away. The girl's face angled out and her eyes deepened. Her body curved in all the right places, and her attire changed from Rin's brown shorts to a yellow knee length dress. When her form stopped changing, she looked at Miku and Len before saying, "Sorry about that, but I like your true face better than this one, Little Body Thief. However, I decided to keep the pretty blonde hair."

Miku had to keep from gawking. In a matter of seconds, the girl changed her appearance from having Rin's face to now Miku's real features. Len all the while couldn't do anything except stare. Shaking what just happened out of her head, Miku asked, "What's your name? Anyone who can do that deserves to have their name known."

The girl stiffened but answered anyway. "Oneself."

Miku furrowed her brows. "I beg your pardon?"

Scowling, the girl repeated, "My name is Oneself."

Len, the master of not asking the most possibly rude questions that he was, blurted out, "What kind of name is Oneself?"

Oneself's scowl deepened. Without answering, she spun on her heel, began to march forward, and said, "We need to get going. My master is expecting you both."

Helping Miku to her wobbly legs, Len held her hand as they both followed the stalking Oneself.

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"Teto? Teto? Geez, where'd that girl run off to this time?" Miku stood on her toes to peer over the crowd, searching for any signs of the familiar bright cherry hair. When looking over the crowd proved to be futile, Miku huffed in irritation. As much as she loved her adopted sister, Miku was at times annoyed by Teto's inability to stay by Miku's side.

"Looking for someone?" a charming, deep voice asked.

Miku whirled around in time for a small figure to tackle her. The person with Teto was, to Miku's astonishment, the magician from the show she and Teto watched earlier. He was giving her the same charming smile from the show, and the sight sent Miku's heart to beat at a quick pace.

"I couldn't find you anywhere!" Teto cried as she pulled away from Miku. "I thought I lost you so I got upset, but Luki saw me and told me that he would help me find you, and here you are!" Hugging Miku again, though this time tighter, Teto added, "I won't wander away again, so please don't be mad. I promise I won't!"

Try as she might, Miku couldn't be mad at the girl. The incident in the forest left Teto fearful of losing Miku again lest something happen, and taking into account what happened to her older brother, Ted, long before Miku came to Wonderland, it's no surprise how being separated can put the young teen on edge like that. She may have been careless and had a bad habit of running ahead of Miku, but Teto really did do the best she could to not get separated from the one she affectionately called sister.

"I noticed that she was looking frantically for someone, so I offered to help," Luki began. "Yukari and I promised to help her find your sister, and now that we've found you, I suppose we should be on our way."

"Yukari?" Miku questioned quietly, searching for but failing to find the mysterious purplette.

"She's right here," Luki smiled before he opened his hand and revealed a tiny, purple mouse nestled there. The small rodent sniffed the air in Miku's and Teto's direction before turning around and scurrying up Luki's arm and coming to rest on his shoulder. With a grin Luki said, "Yukari is rather found of taking animal forms. I've changed her appearance so much that neither of us know if she was born a rabbit, dove, or girl."

"The think it's phenomenal you can change her forms like that," Miku said in awe.

Grinning, Luki replied, "That's not all I'm capable of doing." He held out his hand, as if he wanted Miku to take it. "Come," he warmly invited, "assist me in one final magic act."

Miku was about to deny the request, but before she could move her lips Teto encouraged, "Yes, Miku! Say yes! I want to see what Mr. Luki will do!"

"I suppose one trick can't hurt," Miku softly smiled, preferring to do whatever Luki wanted her to do over telling Teto no.

"It won't hurt one bit," Luki promised as Miku accepted his outstretched hand. He wrapped his warm fingers around hers and led her to a stage in the middle of the fair grounds. "Here Yukari," Luki said as he scooped the mouse into his palms. He covered her with both of his hands, and when he opened them, Yukari's form changed to that of a dove. Throwing her forward, Luki let the her fly the ground where she landed crouched in her human form.

"No matter how many times I see that, it never stops being so awesome!" Teto jumped in excitement, and Miku had to smile in agreement.

Yukari pulled the corners of her lips upwards and showed Teto her teeth. "It certainly feels awesome," the purplette replied.

"Now, Miku," Luki called out to her, "please tell me what you are wearing."

She didn't have to look at her own face to know that her cheeks were turning a bright pink. The burning sensation on her apples was all Miku needed to know that she was blushing. "A green dress, a few petticoats, and a white apron," she said.

"And nothing else?" Luki asked.

"Uh, underwear?" Miku answered, her face on fire now. People were beginning to gather, probably wondering what the magician was doing by asking a girl to tell him about her attire.

"Spin for me," Luki said as he lifted Miku's hand an over her head and helped her twirl. "See?" he said to the audience. "Nothing but ordinary farm clothes."

"Where is this going?" Miku asked quietly enough for only Luki to hear.

"Just trust me," the magician answered just as quietly. Louder, "What dress would the audience like to see this girl wear?"

Teto, bouncing with excitement, shouted, "A princess dress! Make Miku wear a pink princess dress!"

"Not pink," Miku whined. Yukari giggled from the crowd.

"Blue like the spring sky then," Teto said. "Give Miku a spring sky blue princess dress!"

"As you wish," Luki replied. To Miku, "I promise this won't hurt a bit."

"Why did you repeat that promise?" Miku's stomach dropped. She was not liking where this was going so far.

Instead of responded, Luki snapped his fingers and started a fire. He then touched the collar of Miku's dress too fast for her to react and set the fabric ablaze. "Spin, my girl. Spin!" he ordered as he again began to twirl her around and around in fast circles.

Miku did as she was commanded. She spun and she spun even though the repetitive action made her dizzy. It was to her amazement that the fire did not burn. She felt the flames traveling down her dress, but nothing hurt. It was as if the fire burned everything but her skin and hair.

"Now," Luki spoke to the audience as he stopped her and the flames went away, "your princess."

The crowded _ooohed_ and _aaahed_ at the sight. Curiosity consuming her, Miku looked down and gasped when she saw the spring sky blue dress she know wore. The skirt poofed out the way a princess's would. The way a lady's would. Miku instantly hated it.

"Miku, you look so beautiful!" Teto clapped as her eyes lit up in wonder. The crowd agreed before applauding the show, but strangely it felt to Miku as if the audience was more pleased with her than the magician who actually performed the act.

"You know," Luki spoke quietly to her, "you could become my new assistant. Of course you won't be replacing Yukari, but she is too scared of fire to take part in this act, so I've been looking for someone capable of taking the role for a long time now. What do you say? Would you be the least bit interested?"

To be a magician's assistant sounded like a real honor to Miku. To be a part of magic every day was something Miku couldn't deny the joy it brought her to imagine, but when she looked back to the audience and found Teto excitedly chatting away with Yukari, Miku didn't have to think about the answer.

"As honored as I would be," Miku began, "I am afraid I would have to turn you down. My family is here. My life is here. It's not a grand life, but I'm perfectly content with it. I don't believe I have it within myself to simply give it up. I hope you understand."

At first Luki looked disappointed, but he sighed and said with a smile, "I must admit I admire your decision to pick family over fame. Not a lot of girls would do that. Don't worry, your wish is respected."

"Thank you," Miku replied, relieved that Luki was taking the rejection with grace.

"No, thank you," Luki said. "I am glad to have preformed that act with such a sensible person. I will never forget you, my dear Miku." With that he raised her fingers to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. When he pulled away, his brows furrowed in confusion as he said, "I had not realized that you have a birthmark."

It was Miku's turn to furrow her brows. "That's because I don't."

"A tattoo then?"

"No."

"Strange," Luki mused, "you have a green club on the back of your hand. Any particular reason why?"

One look at the back of her right hand and Miku had to bite back a gasp. _Is this the Marking Cheshire warned me about?_ Swallowing back her fears, Miku responded, "None, but I'm certain there's nothing to worry about."


	10. Chapter 10

"You're right," Queen Alice said as she intently watched the mirror as it displayed the event from three days ago, displayed the boy and the girl's body entering into the Cave of Reflection. "They really do think they can retrieve the Vorpal Blade, don't they?"

"They will surely perish before they even reach the end of the labyrinth, my lady," the messenger said. "No soul who has ever tried to retrieve the Jabberwocky has ever made it out again, living or dead."

"No," Queen Alice agreed. She waved her hand, and the image within the glass vanished. "Keep your eyes on the cave. I doubt they will survive, but that's no reason to be careless. If by some chance of fate they exit in one piece, Vorpal Blade in hand-" The queen cut herself off. "Just watch the cave," she ordered.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the messenger replied as he bowed before leaving the room.

When she was alone, the queen walked to the middle of the room, sat on her throne, and began to stroke the crystal ball. "This can't be possible," she whispered. Turning to the glass prison, Queen Alice said to Rin, "I can't believe that brother of yours and his body stealing companion are so foolish. However, it's the same foolishness that might bring the end of me."

Rin said nothing. Instead she stated at the dumbstruck queen, unable to process the information herself. She may have not known anything about this Jabberwocky, but Rin could tell this creature was dangerous enough to have even Alice shaking in place.

_Please be careful, Len_ Rin prayed. _Please, please don't get yourself killed. And please, Miku, if that's you with my brother, take care of him. Please don't let him get hurt. I want to see him again, and I don't want it to be with us both as spirits._

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Miku and Len could both feel their heart rates increase as Oneself lead them to the Jabberwocky's lair. They were about to face the most powerful being in all of Wonderland, far more powerful than Queen Alice and all her armies; and if Miku misinterpreted the prophecy, then she had lead Len and herself, and indirectly Rin, to their doom.

Interpretation of the prophecy aside, Miku wasn't remotely sure that she and Len were supposed to be the heroes of Wonderland. Not that she doubted the Mad Hatter's and fairies' confidence in the teens being the ones, but Miku herself couldn't believe that she was someone who was supposed to be so strong. She had spent the last twenty-five years dead, and try as she might to hide it, there was no denying that she was out of practice when it came to living. She was a mix of sixteen-year-old mentality, forty-one chronology, and temporarily fourteen physically. How was she going to react to getting back to her own body and suddenly becoming a middle aged woman after being a teenager for so long?

"This is it," Oneself said as she stopped right in front of a set of large doors, pulling Miku out of her thoughts and back into reality.

The doors reached the ceiling, the height Miku estimated to be well over twenty feet. There were knots and gnarls all over the rotted wood, and rusted iron ran across the doors and twisted into eerie shapes. It appeared as if four evil eyes, near the top of the doors, stared at anyone who dare stood before the entrance. The doorknobs were so rusted that Miku feared that they would crumble to dust at her touch.

"Isn't this . . . a pleasant sight?" Len tried, but his attempt to lighten the mood, assuming that was what he was doing, fell flat.

"I really don't want to go in there," Miku shivered as she gave herself a tight hug.

"Isn't that supposed to be my line?" Len asked, but again his humor vanished into the air. Whatever it was Miku saw before he found her still had her shaken up. Len wanted to ask about it in hopes of talking would make Miku feel better, but Len knew that now was not the time. Now, they had to steel themselves and face Fear itself.

"Just going to tell you right now," Oneself said as she wrapped her eligent fingers around the knob, "that don't think because I lead you here we're suddenly friends or something. I will happily skin you alive if my master so pleases."

"Wouldn't expect any less from you," Miku replied as she pushed away whatever fear she possessed and stepped forward. She stopped, turned around to face Len, and said, "Remember, the Jabberwocky feeds off your fear. If you don't allow yourself to feel afraid, he can't hurt you." Len nodded in understanding. Oneself merely snorted. "What?" Miku cocked her head to the side in the direction of the strange girl.

"Don't underestimate my master," was all Oneself responded with. Having that said, Oneself pushed open the doors and strode inside, Miku and Len in tow.

"Look Len!" Miku gasped in excitement as she instinctively reached out for the blond and clutched his arm. "The Vorpal Blade!"

Len looked in the direction Miku's finger was pointing and saw what appeared to be a sword stuck in the middle of the room. The hilt was a dreary gray and wrapped in what appeared to be the skin of the Jabberwocky's enemies, and the black blade curved like a slithering snake. The sight made Len feel sick to his stomach, mostly sick out of fear. If that was what the blade itself looked like, Len wasn't ready to meet what kind of monster the blade concealed.

"So what do we do?" Len furrowed his brows as he started at the horrifying sword. "Just walk up and take it?"

"Oh, my dear boy," Oneself laughed. "You're so stupid."

"This is the part where she tries to skin us alive," Miku mumbled under her breath, and Len had the unfortunate luck of hearing what she said.

Raising her hands high, Oneself called, "Come, my brothers and sister in guarding our master. Let us show them that we won't be defeated. Rise: Experience, Paranoia, and Hatred. Rise and fight with me."

"Totally called it," Miku added.

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Miku scratched ferociously at the back of her hand. The sponge and hot water burned her red skin, but the club Miku tried so hard to remove was as green as ever. "Dammit!" she shouted when her attempt proved futile. She threw the sponge back into the sink and picked up a towel to dry her hands off. It had been two days since Miku discovered the Mark, and no matter what she did, nothing could dull it. The girl tried scrapping it off, scrubbing, and washing, but nothing effected the Mark.

Neither of the Kasane parents knew what to make of the Mark. Teto thought it was some sort of magic at play, as if Wonderland had accepted Miku as a part of its existence. As for Miku, she was not treating the new club on her skin lightly. Cheshire's warning bounced around inside of Miku's skull, and even if Miku didn't understand absolutely everything about the Mark, she knew it had to be removed as soon as possible.

_"If you ever see any strange mark, any at all, come on to me. As long as you don't notice anything strange, you will be fine; but the moment you find a mark on the back of your hand, find me immediately."_

Miku blinked as she remembered his words. _Cheshire might be able to remove this._ Without hesitating, Miku scribbled a note to let her adopted family know that she was going on a walk. They left that morning to help with the harvest, but Miku claimed illness as an excuse to stay behind. She knew she would have to tell the truth of her whereabouts when she returned, but at that moment all Miku cared about was removing the Mark.

Running out of the home with nothing but the clothes on her back and the shoes on her feet, Miku darted out of the village and into the forest she had met Cheshire in many months ago. Miku, panicked on finding Cheshire, did not pay attention where she was going. If she got lost, it would be her own fault, but finding the mysterious grinning cat was the only thing on her young mind.

"Cheshire?! Cheshire?!" Miku called again and again. Frantically she ran in search of the creature, not knowing if he was even in the area. "Cheshire?!"

The dark woods seemed to swallow Miku whole. The further she want, the deeper she traveled into the forest, the closer she was to the heart. _Run, sweet girl_ a voice whispered, unheard. _Come closer to me. Everyone who has met you loves you, and with your body as my own, everyone will love me, too._

When her tired limbs finally won out, Miku stopped running in favor of catching her breath. She doubled over, hands on her knees, and took deep, controlled breathes. It was a difficult task; he lungs wanted her to inhale as much oxygen as she could hold as quickly as she could breath. "Where is That Damned Cat?" Miku asked herself, using Cheshire's other name.

Suddenly she blacked out.

When her vision returned, she saw her slumped body on the ground, as if she was no longer in it.

"What the-" Miku began before she realized that she was being held back. She clawed at the arm pressed into her throat. When that failed, Miku slammed her heel onto the toes of the one choking her.

"OW!" the attacker screamed.

Miku broke away and spun around to see who was trying to hurt her. The guard Miku held instantly fell when she laid eyes on the figure before her. A small girl, about eight or nine, with waist length pale blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes. She wore a simple blue dress and a white apron wrapped around with white stockings and black shoes. A bow matching her dress pinned back her otherwise unruly locks. "You're a little girl," Miku whispered.

The comment led the little girl to screw up her face as she shouted through clenched teeth, "My name is Alice!"

Alice charged towards Miku, but the teen spun out of the way and wrapped her fingers around Alice's arms and pinned them behind her back. "What do you want with me?" Miku demanded.

Keeping her response simple, Alice said, "Your body." With that her form changed, and Miku was surprised to find herself holding a rag doll instead. The doll had an egg-shaped head; stitches across the arms, legs, and face; and two empty sockets for eyes.

"Uh?" Miku held the doll closer to examine it, but the doll, apparently an animate object, jumped free from Miku's grasp and jumped at her face. "Kya!" Miku screamed as she fell backwards. Now flat on her back, Miku tried to get back to her feet. Except now the doll had resumed shape of the little girl.

"It's not fair!" she shouted as she successfully kept Miku pinned to the ground. "I don't want to disappear, and you stupid humans don't have to depend on others to survive, to stay in this world. It's not fair!" Alice then pulled out a necklace from her apron pocket. "I really don't want to do this, Mikaera," Alice said as she pressed the glass orb against Miku's chest, "but if one of us has to cease to exist, it's going to be you."

The crystal ball glowed, and Miku felt fire burning through her clothes and searing her skin. "AAAHHHHH!" Miku cried. She couldn't fight. She couldn't defend herself. This little girl, Alice, was too strong. Whatever Alice was, Miku knew she wasn't human.

"Goodbye, Mikaera," Alice whispered, and a stray tear trickled down her pale cheek. "I'm truly sorry to do this to you."

The pain flared higher, and higher, and then . . . nothing.

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Oneself stood in the middle of the room, hands still held in the air. She laughed maliciously, her shoulders rising and falling with the sound. Dark figures began to take shape in the corners of the room. Within time, these shapes looked less like shadows and more like people.

A skinny boy who seemed to tremble over his own weight rose from the ground. His hair was what appeared to be a dirty blond, and his eyes were yellow like a dying sunflower. "I am Experience," he said in his weak and quivering voice. "I represent the fears that develop from traumas and past experiences." Looking Miku in the eyes, Experience said, "I was the one who made you relive your worst memories, Mikaera."

Len noticed how Miku visibly stiffened at the sound of the name. _Mikaera?_ he wondered. _Is Mikaera . . . Is Mikaera Miku's real name?_ It may have been just a name, but the way Miku reacted to being called by it told Len that there was far more to Miku's past then she had previously shared with him. Now that he thought about it, how well did he really know this mysterious girl?

"Why are you seeming so hostile?" another voice said. Miku and Len both looked in the direction as a girl rose from the shadows. Her hair was salt and pepper colored, and her eyes were the color of dried blood. "I am Paranoia," she introduced herself. "I am a fear brought on by mistrust of others and the feeling of someone always being out to get you." Paranoia hugged herself tighter and said, "I know my fears aren't as rational as Experience's, but they're still very powerful. So please, stop judging me."

"If you make Paranoia cry, I will kill you," said a voice that definitely belonged to a man. Reluctantly, Miku and Len spun around and saw a man who looked nearly identical to Paranoia, except where she cowered in on herself the same way Experience did, this man stood tall. His face was twisted into what the teens assumed was meant to be the cross between a smirk and a scowl. "I am Hatred," he introduced himself. "I represent the fear of others' jealousy and wrath. If I'm around, then it's safe to say that you're scared for a damn good reason."

"Lucky for me, most of my fears are relevant to just being paranoid," Len said, grateful that Paranoia didn't look like she wanted to kill him just for the fun of it.

"Let me guess," Miku said, narrowing her eyes at Oneself, "you represent the fear one has when he is scared of himself and terrified of what he is capable of becoming."

"That's exactly what I embody," Oneself smirked. "Why, you don't fear yourself at all, yet you absolutely nailed it."

"Only because before now I feared that I was a detestable creature by the way I took this girl's body," Miku said, and Len noticed that she was gritted her teeth and curling her fingers into fists. "Then a few days ago I realized that I was wrong: I have no reason to fear myself. My past, yes," she nodded her head in Experience's direction, "but never who I am."

"Touching," Oneself said with a bored expression, "but what about your little companion? Why, I can spend years feasting off of him his fear of himself is so strong." With a sickly sweet grin upon her face, Oneself asked, "We haven't told you about the vision he saw while you two were separated earlier, have we?"

"That can wait until later," Miku answered, a knot forming in her stomach about Len's possible hallucination. If Oneself could bring it up to Miku like that, Miku was sure that she was better off not knowing.

"That boy who you call your friend really is the monster he fears himself to be." The way Oneself giggled would make one think that she was talking about a crush. "In the master illusion I conjured up for him, he had to chose between saving you and saving his sister. Instead of trying to save both of you like he should, he didn't hesitate to have you killed so that he could have Rin back! For a moment I believed he had something against you that was how effortless it was for him to choose."

Len, shamefully, cast his gaze in Miku's direction. The girl kept her expression guarded, nothing in her posture or facial expressions giving away anything. He couldn't tell if she was afraid of him or disappointed in him. Just the sight of Miku remaining so expressionless made Len's heart sink to his stomach.

It was then he realized that he actually cared what Miku thought about him. They had only known each other for so long, but now Len was terrified that the friendship they had been building was collapsing to a tragic end. No more being partners. No more Miku teaching Len how to fight with a sword. No more nights under the stars together. No more enjoying the other's company. No more Miku. Just the mere thought of losing the girl as a friend was enough to depress Len's spirit. He couldn't explain it, but the last thing he wanted at that moment was to have Miku disappear from his life. It was then Len knew that he was willing to do whatever it took to save Rin _and_ keep Miku alongside him. Though Rin was more important, Miku was by no means a causality.

"Do you honestly think I care about that?" Miku asked, finally reacting to what Oneself had told her. "Rin is his _twin sister_. I'm nothing more than a ghost he met barely two weeks ago. He did the right thing choosing his sister over me, and I could never hold it against him even if the event ever truly played through. I can tell that Rin means more to Len than his own life; I'm just something to keep around until we both get what we want back."

A lump formed in Len's throat. He had wanted to say so many things. _"You are not nothing." "You are too self-sacrificing for your own good." "You aren't just something to keep around until I get Rin back; you're the reason I still have hope for this pathetic half life I'm living."_ As strongly as Len thought the words, he couldn't say them. He wanted so badly to let Miku know just how valuable she truly was, but his words wouldn't form on his lips. They were caught behind the growing lump he couldn't swallow.

"Ugh, that's not the reaction I was looking for," Oneself twisted her face in disappointment.

"I th-thought it wa-wa-was swee-eet," Paranoia stuttered, earning glare from Oneself so strong that it caused Paranoia to again retreat into the corner.

"Say what you will to turn me against Len," Miku challenged, her eyes firmly locked on Oneself's. "There's nothing you could ever say that would make me think I should have any worth in all this. We agreed to work together to get our heart's desires. Anything more is not in the lines of vision."

"Funny you should say that," said a voice so deep and strong that Miku and Len both visibly flinched. The same voice then laughed at their reactions.

"Len," Miku reached out and shook Len's shoulder, "look!"

Len did look, and what he found was a dark smoke emitting itself from the Vorpal Blade. Oneself smirked as she moved to stand alongside her fellow embodiments of fear. In that moment, Len knew what was happening. "The Jabberwocky," he whispered in horror.

The smoke swirled in a cyclone that was only as tall as they were. Soon the smoke began to solidify, and left in its place was what appeared to be a person. Skin like olives, hair the color of Paranoia's and Hate's fell unrestrained to the person's shoulders, and eyes like Oneself's and Experience's pierced into the blonde teens. The person wore leopard print pants, a black shirt that exposed the midsection, and a fluffy white jacket. The charcoal black lips parted into a smile before greeting with, "It's been centuries since I last had company."

"Wait . . . ," Len trailed off. "The Jabberwocky's a girl?!"

The master of fear sneered at Len's words. "Woman," she sternly corrected.

"Sorry," Len said, "but I was just expecting you to be a bit more, I don't know, scary."

"Disappointed, I see," the Jabberwocky mused as she cocked her head to the side. "Well, perhaps I can change that." Smoke again swallowed up the woman, and this time the tornado shaped spiral increased in size.

"Don't show fear," Miku warned Len as she stood close to him. "If you don't allow yourself to feel fear, she can't hurt you."

"I have my doubts about that," Len said as he spoke with trembling lips. When the smoke again turned solid, a large, ugly black dragon roared at the teens.

"Is THIS scary enough for you?!" the Jabberwocky said in a now deep, hellish voice.

"Yes!" Len squeaked against his will.

"Len!" Miku hissed, not pleased with the boy's weak will when it came to fear.

Monster Jabberwocky laughed a cruel, sick sound. Then again she was surrounded by smoke and she returned to her more human form. "That was fun," she said, "but I'd rather pick you both to pieces slowly. I want to savor each moment of your falling apart as you seep into the abyss of insanity."

"Suddenly I want her to be a horrifying dragon that can swallow me whole again," Len said, trying to steel himself but failing.

"Welcom to Wonderland," Miku responded, "where ugly dragons are preferred over women with bad fashion sense."

The Jabberwocky narrowed her eyes. "You're using humor to cover up your fear," she pointed out. "Nice try, but it won't work. This world may be called Wonderland, but I can assure you there's nothing wonderful about it. Wonderland may sound like a dream, but trust me when I tell you that it's nothing more than a nightmare. I mean, look at me; I'm you're greatest fear come to life. It will be nothing for me to destroy you."

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"Help! Someone, anyone, listen to me!" Miku shouted as she slammed her fists against the glass prison. "That's not me! I'm the real Miku, not the monster wearing my body!"

For the first week Miku tried to call out to her friends, family, and neighbors from the crystal ball Alice, now in Miku's body, wore around her neck. Alice didn't even try to pretend to be Miku; she simply jumped straight into being referred by her real name and receiving special treatment. Everyone, even Teto and her parents, thought Miku was going mad. Miku, the Miku trapped away so that she could neither be seen nor heard, begged for somebody to hear her, but it was no use. Only Alice could hear through the crystallized glass, and she held no interest in passing along Miku's message.

Two months later, Alice fled the village. "I hate this part," she said as she traveled through the night, rubbing her thumb across the ball in which she held Miku hostage.

"What are you going to do to me?" Miku asked in a whisper. She wasn't expecting a response, but Alice surprised her.

"I'm going to feed your soul to the Nightmare," Alice answered quietly. "It's the only way I'll be allowed to keep your young, beautiful body."

"What's wrong with yours?" Miku questioned.

Whatever gentleness Alice had just seconds ago, it was gone now. "I don't have a body, you idiot girl! I'm not meant to exist, and I need a body to keep from vanishing. If I take your body, your soul has to cease to exist. It's the only way to keep balance of life and existence in Wonderland."

Miku had so many more questions to ask, but she didn't voice them out of fear. All that ran through the greenette's mind was trying some way to escape from Alice. It was either that or disappear.

As Alice slept that night, Miku traveled around the ball shaped prison as she tried to find some means of escape. Nothing. The cell was sealed, and Miku discovered no means of breaking out.

_"We will help you."_

The voices caused Miku to tense. They sounded like whispers, whispers of those long since dead and turned to ash, speaking slowly and almost as if hissing. "Who-who's these?" she called out.

_"Alice's previous victims,"_ the voices, distinctly two of them, spoke in perfect unison. _"There is a way out, but it will result in your spending the rest of your existence as a wandering ghost."_

"I'll take it!" Miku said, jumping at the offer. She knew accepting help from mysterious voices was not deemed wise, but she had no other options. "What do I do?"

_"Go downhill."_

"Uh, I don't know how you expect me to do that," Miku said. "I can't exactly leave."

_"Push the wall," _the voices advised. _"Roll downhill. At the bottom is the Plain Quartz. The quartz will sap the magic from the crystal, allowing you to be free."_

Miku had her doubts, but it was all she had. "And what about you?" she asked the voices. "Will you be freed as well?"

_"Worry not about us," _they answered._ "We are nothing but the memories of this cage's previous prisoners. All of who we were was sacrificed centuries ago."_

"I'm sorry," Miku apologized. "I really wish there was something I could do."

_"You can help us by escaping,"_ the voices replied. _"Without you, Alice can't keep the order of existence in balance. Alice will fade away, and never again will it hurt anyone."_

"But what if Alice brings somebody else to use in my place?" Miku asked, worried. "I'm sure the things I can do as a ghost are limited, but is there anything I can do at all to stop her?"

_"If it does bring another in your place, we will do everything we can to prepare them for what is to come. Meanwhile, you do what you can to find a way to prevent the sacrifice."_

Nodding, Miku replied, "I understand. Thank you, those whose names I don't know." With that Miku turned around and began slamming herself into the glass wall. It took many tries, but finally the crystal ball lost its balance and began rolling to the rocks that would suck away its magic and thus free Miku.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rin, unsure what to make of the ending, asked, "Why would you show me all of your memories? Why not help me like you did Miku? Why allow me to remain trapped while give her an escape route?"

_"What we did for Miku should not have been possible,"_ they answered. _"Alice was careless, and her first victim knew the area. Alice has been much more careful in its handling of you. There was nothing for us to do save for let you know all of our stories."_

"Well they did nothing to help," Rin huffed.

_"But you know Miku now,"_ they replied. _"Her story is a part of your memories, just as your own memories are becoming hers. If that is truly her using your body, then it would not be far fetched to assume she knows all of your secrets."_

Instead of replying, Rin stood to her feet and said, "If you're done forcing yourselves onto me, I'm going to find a way out."

_"There is none,"_ the voices insisted. _"If there was, we would have told you."_

"Too bad I'm done listening to you," Rin sneered. "My baby brother has been out getting himself nearly killed for weeks now trying to save me, and I have done nothing to save myself. No more damsel in distress Rin. I'm getting out of here."

_"And be a roaming ghost? Your brother and his companion are coming for you. If you must break free, time it when he's on his way. If not, you could spend years trying to find him again._

For a minute Rin considered the words. If she figured out a way to break free and escaped, how far would she go before Alice captured her again? Not to mention she had no idea where Len was. She could be running to him and completely pass him as he came this way for her.

"All right, Meiko, Kaito," Rin said, addressing each voice by name, "I'll hang around. Just no more focusing memories onto me, okay?"

They didn't answer.

Rin sat on the ground and tucked her knees to her chest. For weeks she had been wishing for the voices to leave her alone, and now they were. It was peaceful and quiet. Too quiet. The hours passed on too slowly now, too painfully.

Deciding she didn't like the silence as much as she thought she would, Rin almost asked the voices to come back.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Without a second's hesitation, Miku drew her sword and readied herself for battle. "Come on, Len," Miku said, pointing the tip of her blade at the Jabberwocky's heart, "we can take them."

"There's five of them and only two of us!" Len exclaimed as he, too, pulled out his weapon. "No to mention one of them can turn into a freaking dragon if she wants to. We're way out matched!"

"Remember, the Jabberwocky can't hurt you if you don't feel fear," Miku said as her eyes narrowed at the creature.

"No," the Jabberwocky responded, "but my precious servants can."

Before Miku could react, Hatred threw himself at Miku and slammed her onto the ground, knocking the wind out of her. "Miku!" Len shouted, but just then Oneself came from behind and wrapped her arms around his throat.

"No point in trying to save the little ghost," Oneself whispered into Len's war as she hugged his neck tighter. "She will die, and then that sister of yours you love so much will follow."

"I won't let that happen," Len said through gritted teeth before he dropped his sword, wrapped his fingers around Oneself's arms, bent over quickly, and used the momentum to throw the girl off of him. Oneself crashed into Hatred, and they both fell over, Hatred releasing Miku in the process.

Miku scrambled to her feet and kept her eyes locked on the two Fears. "Thanks, Len," she said before she lunged at her opponents.

While Miku occupied the other two, Len cast his eyes on the remaining Fears and found them huddled in the corner. "Aren't you going to fight?" he asked.

"Paranoia and Experience weren't made for combat," the Jabberwocky sighed. "Whereas Hatred and Oneself can lead to violent outbursts, Paranoia and Experience are crippling fears. The damage they can do is purely internal."

"It's true," Experience said with a nod. "I know from the time Oneself attacked me that I'm hopeless in a fight." Paranoia cried as Hatred punched Miku in the face and buried her own face in her fellow Fear's shoulder. "Paranoia is just too scared something bad will happen if she joins in," Experience added.

"That makes things so much easier," Len said before turning around and charging into the dual Miku kept up. She was doing well for someone fighting against two opponents, but fatigue was beginning to show itself. "About damn time you showed up and gave me a hand," was how she greeted Len as he protected her from a kick by Oneself.

"Good news," Len replied, "it's just these two. The others won't fight for . . . personal reasons."

"Suits me fine," Miku said, sounding relieved, as she locked eyes with Hatred. Her shoulders were heaving, but neither he nor his blonde companion seemed the tiniest bit tired. _Because they're not human. . . ._ There was only one way to defeat them, and all it took was Miku seeing a smirk on the Jabberwocky's face to figure it out. "Len," Miku ordered, "cover for me."

"What are you-" Len began but stopped to obey nonetheless. He slashed his sword at Hatred's chest when the Fear charged after Miku, and Oneself, either not realizing what Miku was doing or deeming Len to more valuable opponent, seized the opportunity to grab Len's arm and twist it behind his back. The teen cried out in pain as his sword dropped behind him.

Hatred strut forward, his chest wound closing and the blood drying the second it touched air, and punched Len under his jaw. "Stupid boy," he spat.

While this was happening, Miku closed the distance between the Jabberwocky and herself and stabbed the monster completely through. Miku walked away, letting go of her sword, and saw how deeply the blade sunk into the Jabberwocky's rib cage. The woman should have been bleeding, should have been screaming in pain, but instead she laughed. "Foolish mortal!" the Jabberwocky exclaimed. "Only the Vorpal Blade can do any damage to me." With that the Jabberwocky wrapped her fingers around the hilt of Miku's sword and pulled it out without so much as wincing. After throwing the object on the ground, she picked up Miku, carried her to an end of the room, and held the girl against the cave wall.

"Miku," Len breathed when he saw what happened to his companion. He tried to shake Oneself off, but he only managed to free his arm. Before Oneself could pin him down again, Len picked up a rock by his feet and flung it at the Jabberwocky, hitting her on the side of the head. Hatred then took hold of Len's free arm and yanked him downwards, and the other two Fears joined their companions in holding the blond teen down.

"You won't win," Miku said, trying her best to not feel fear. "Hope is stronger than you, and I have hope that Len and I will walk away from here with you as our reluctant ally."

"I will never help you," the Jabberwocky whispered. "I don't care about any of you."

"Because real monsters care about nobody but themselves," Miku replied bitterly before, perhaps in an act of feigned bravery, spat at the Jabberwocky's face. Whatever patience the Mast of Fear had before, it was gone now.

"That's enough!" the Jabberwocky hissed as she pushed Miku even further into the cave wall. The tiny girl whimpered in pain as the rocks dug into her spine and shoulders. "I will not be overcome by a body stealing ghost and a little kid. I will not! I'm going to enjoy killing you, Mikaera Langston. I'm really going to enjoy watching the life fade from those eyes as you and the body die for good." As if compelled, the Jabberwocky slammed Miku into the wall again, causing Miku to cry out.

"MIKU!" Len shouted as he tried to shake off the Four Fears, but it was no use. Combined, they were too strong for him, and there was nothing Len could do to save his only friend. "Miku," he said again, saying her name as an apology for being unable to help.

"Len," Miku quietly returned, her eyes locked with his. Tears were streaming down his face just as she was sure tears were pouring down her own. The fear leaked its way into her system, and that was all the Jabberwocky needed to take hold of the young girl. There was nothing Miku could do, and Len was unable to help her.

She didn't want to die. Miku didn't want to fade away from the world, but more than that, she didn't want to leave Len alone. Her death also meant Rin's, and with the hope of getting his twin sister back gone forever, Len would have nothing left. "Len," Miku choked his name again despite the pain in doing so. _Len. Sweet, beautiful Len. You're too good, too pure for a twisted place like this._

As if hearing Miku's thoughts, which she probably did, the Jabberwocky grinned and leaned forward to whisper into Miku's ear. "It's a wonderful thing what you feel for that boy," she said the words sweetly, as if she meant them. She knew Miku's greatest fear, and she was going to savor tormenting Miku with it. "You have only known him for so long, yet your heart is in pain from the emotions you feel for him."

As hard as it was, Miku ripped her eyes away from Len's and met the Jabberwocky's. "Stop," she begged. "Please stop."

The Jabberwocky smirked. She had won; she had succeeded in breaking Miku. "You fear yourself developing feelings you shouldn't have, and not ever being able to have them makes the emotion so much harder to resist. You don't want to love him, but you do. You can't help it. His sister loves him with all her heart, and because of that you love him, too. The feelings are forcing themselves onto you, and soon you won't be able to tell hers from yours. By the time you get your body back, which odds are you won't, it will be too late. You will love him too much by then. In what way, I don't know, but if ends the way you're fearing, then death would be so much more desirable."

Gasping, Miku said through her broken, strained voice, "No, it's not Rin. It's me. I want to protect him. I want to save him. No price is too high to return to him what was taken. He's the only pure thing in this horrible world. He and Rin never should have come here. Len's my best friend, and I failed him."

For everything that was happening, Miku no longer felt anything. The pain, sadness, and fear had grown to be too much. Too much, in fact, that there was nothing left to feel. Her face was pale as that of a dead person, and her veins were easily visible through the translucent skin. Her lips quickly drained of their color. She was done. Miku, despite everything, had given in and allowed the Jabberwocky to use her fear as a way to drain away what was left of her existence.

"Miku, please listen to me!"

Slowly shifting her gaze, Miku made eye contact with Len. His voice, she noted, was going hoarse. For all Miku knew, Len could have been shouting at her to listen to him instead the whole time the Jabberwocky was whispering into her ear. "You're stronger than her," he shouted as loud as he could. "You're stronger than fear. Hope is stronger than fear, and you have more hope than anyone I have ever met. Please Miku, don't give up. You can't give up!"

"But she already has," the Jabberwocky said with a smile, saying the words for Miku.

A single tear sliding down her face, Miku looked Len in the eyes one last time. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "This is all my fault. I'm so, so sorry, Len." With that said, Miku closed her eyes and let her head fall. One final breath escaped her blue lips.

"Miku?" Len called. "Miku?! MIKU?!"

"Don't waste your breath," the Jabberwocky said. She lifted Miku away from the wall and unceremoniously tossed the small, sagging body to the ground. "She's dead, or is close to it. Scared to death, and you did nothing to stop it."

"Just like in your illusion," Oneself said. To Len's surprise, she wasn't laughing. Instead she sounded broken, as if a part of her really wanted to believe that hope truly is stronger than fear. "The girl died, and you did nothing to try to save her."

"No," Len said quietly. "No, she's not dead. Miku can't be dead. She said she would help me save Rin. She gave me her word! She's- She's-"

"Shut up," the Jabberwocky said, her golden eyes narrowed at Len.

It was only two words, but it was enough for something inside of Len to snap. "You," he sneered, venom dripping from the single syllable. With a newfound strength, Len shook the unsuspecting Fears off of him and shot to his feet. Before even the Jabberwocky herself could react, Len pulled the Vorpal Blade from its place in the stone flooring and charged the embodiment of fear.

"Oh!" the Jabberwocky cried in pain as the black sword sunk into her midsection, pierced through her back, and chipped the wall behind her. Len stood at the other end, eyes blazing an icy fire. The Jabberwocky never would have associated ice and fire like this, not until now. "Len Kagamine," she whispered his name. At that moment, she couldn't believe he was human. "You have overcome me," she said softly. Then she vanished into a cloud of smoke. The dark gray puff hovered around the blade before the black metal absorbed it in.

"Master!" Oneself cried. Len turned around just in time to see Oneself and the others turn into mist before fading away in thin air. He was alone, the threats were gone, but he felt no relief.

"Miku!" he cried as he dropped the Vorpal Blade and fell to his knees. He picked up his sister's lifeless body, brushed stray hair off her face, and cradled her close to his chest. "Miku. Rin." Len hugged the body tighter. "Could I lose them both right now? Close I lose them both? Have I already lost them?!" Len clung to the body as if it were a lifeline. "Miku, speak to me!" he demanded. "I can't lose Rin, and I sure as hell can't lose you either. Please come back to me. Please!"

No movement came from the tiny frame in his arms. The tears Len thought he already cried out streamed down his cheeks. He pulled away from the body and looked at the face. At least, he thought, that the expression was not screwed up in fear. Len brushed the bangs away before kissing the forehead. "Goodbye, Rin," he whispered, his lips still against the skin. "And goodbye, Miku. This wasn't your fault. I didn't save Rin the first time, and now I didn't save you and her when it mattered most. I'm sorry, Miku. And most of all, I'm sorry, Rin."

"Touching," a soft, cracking voice said, "but it's a little early for goodbyes, don't you think?"

Len snapped his head up and looked down at the girl in his arms. "Miku!" he cried, this time tears of joy. Green eyes met his blue ones. "I thought you and Rin were gone forever. I thought-" A sob cut him off. He buried his face into her chest and let the emotions out. "Seeing Rin's body lifeless again, I couldn't take it," he said so quietly Miku was sure he didn't intend for her to hear.

Weakly, Miku placed a hand on his head and began to run her fingers through his hair. "Didn't I tell you I'm not easy to kill?" she questioned, smile on her face.

"How did you not get scared scared to death?" Len asked. "I almost lost everything watching you fade away, and I don't know how that compares to the fear the Jabberwocky made you feel."

"It was horrible," Miku answered. "It was the worst fear I've ever experienced. I was ready to give in and let it all go. Then you picked me up. I couldn't be afraid after that; I couldn't let go. Yes, I was terrified at first, but it's hard to be scared when you're being held by somebody who makes you feel safe."

Len removed his face from her chest then. With how the tears were pouring from his eyes, Miku couldn't help but think of him as a little boy who had awoken from a nightmare. Not much of a stretch, Miku thought, since they were living in a nightmare worse than what their imaginations could ever concoct.

Running his fingers along her cheek, Len said, "I swear Miku, if I lose my sister because of you, I'm going to die and dedicate the rest of eternity finding you in the afterlife and making you wish you could die a second time." Len rest his forehead against hers. "Don't scare me like that ever again."

Selfish as it was, Miku didn't push Len away as he kept his face close to the one she borrowed. Perhaps Len needed to release his emotions as much as she needed to soak it all in. He saved her. Where Miku failed, Len slew the Jabberwocky. Now the most powerful creature in all of Wonderland was under their control, and it was all because of Len. She stroked Len's soft locks as he continued to cry until the relief was over, tears falling out of her own eyes. "Rin sure is lucky to have a brother who loves her so much," Miku whispered to herself. "I'm jealous."

"We need to go," Len sniffed minutes later, yet he made no effort to pull away from his sister's body.

"Let's rest first," Miku suggested, her fingers still tangled in Len's hair. When she felt the boy tense at the thought, Miku added, "The Jabberwocky is trapped inside her blade until we let her out; she can't hurt us, and with her locked away, nothing else in this cave can hurt us, either. We've been in here for a long time, and I'm exhausted. You are too, I'm sure. We should just rest here until we're ready to leave. We'll be safe."

For a full minute, Len didn't respond. Then he mumbled a "you're right," set Miku down, and lied beside her. "I want Rin," he whispered the confession, his voice soft and shattered. "I want Rin so much it really, really hurts. I want my twin sister right here, right now. I don't know how much longer I can take not having her by my side."

"Shhh," Miku soothed as she feathered the back of her fingers across Len's cheek. She repeated the motion twice before she resumed stroking his hair. "We have a weapon more powerful than anything Alice could ever possess. We have an army with Teto's people, and we have an alliance with the fairies. Len, you will get your sister back. I can't promise when because we shouldn't rush into this battle, but there's so little in the way now. Before you know it, you will have Rin again."

Len closed his eyes, not protesting to Miku's running her fingers through his hair. "What about you?" he whispered.

"I will get my body back," she replied.

"No," Len shook his head but didn't open his eyes. "I meant what will you do when all of this is over?"

"I don't know," Miku said so softly Len almost didn't catch the words. "It doesn't matter. Nobody needs me."

This time Len's eyelids did fly open. "I need you," he said.

"Not when you get Rin back you won't," Miku replied, pulling her hand away from Len. To her surprise, he caught it and pulled it close to his chest.

"I need you," he repeated firmly. "Yes, I need my sister back so badly that it kills me, but I will still need you when everything is done with. We've been through too much together to say goodbye. Especially now. How are either of us going to survive today unless we have each other to comfort? How are we going to survive tomorrow, and the next day, and so on not knowing if the other is okay because nothing but horrible things has come from our separations? I'm slowly losing my sanity, but having you with me is keeping me from submerging. How could you say that nobody needs you when it's so clear that besides Rin, there's no one else I need more?"

Allowing an escaped sob, Miku clutched the hand tightly and wrapped her other one around it. "Whatever happens," she said through her tears, "always know that I will always be with you. All I want is to protect you, and I will do everything I can to keep you safe."

"So will I," Len replied as he gave her hand a squeeze of reassurance. He snuggled close to Miku, and she in turn huddled close to him to keep warm in the cool cave. "You know, Rin will absolutely love you," he said before drifting off to sleep, his breathing the most even it's been since they first stepped foot on the mountain.

"Of course she will," Miku responded even though she knew Len couldn't hear her. "Rin loves you more than anything in the world." Brushing her lips against Len's forehead, Miku added, "And so do I."

* * *

Author's Note: Guess who finally got around to finishing this? Yeah, I know, I really do suck. Sorry!

As of right now, I don't know when I'll get around to writing and publishing the final installment to this mini trilogy. It's not a matter of _if_, but _when_. Take note on that. College has been majorly kicking my butt and leaving me little writing time, but I'm trying. I'm not giving up, guys. Quitting is not an option!

Lastly, I hope you all enjoyed this. It was fun to write, but the closer I got to the ending the more things twisted in ways I didn't plan. I love it when that happens in writing! This story was amazing to write, and my wish is the final Alice's Human Sacrifice fanfic will make this one seem dull in comparison because of how awesome its sequel is. :)

-Ray


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